How can design help us understand climate overshoot? CMCC scientist Anna Pirani, working alongside international climate researchers and information designers, co-authored a paper on temperature overshoot selected for the proceedings of the World Design Congress London 2025, showcasing how co-design can strengthen the way science informs policy and society.

A paper co-authored by CMCC scientist Anna Pirani has been selected for publication in the official proceedings of the World Design Congress London 2025, held in London from 9–11 September 2025. The Congress gathered global leaders in design, business, education and sustainability under the theme Design for Planet, exploring design-led solutions to the climate crisis.

The selected paper builds on the work developed for the article Overshoot: A Conceptual Review of Exceeding and Returning to Global Warming of 1.5°C and presents an innovative co-design process to improve the communication of “temperature overshoot” – the temporary exceedance of 1.5°C global warming followed by a return below that threshold.

As the world moves closer to surpassing 1.5°C, understanding overshoot pathways has become increasingly urgent. While widely discussed in climate modelling, the concept remains inconsistently defined and poorly communicated, even among experts. The paper highlights how collaboration between climate scientists and information designers can strengthen both scientific narratives and policy-relevant communication.

Developed in collaboration with Angela Morelli and Tom Gabriel Johansen from InfoDesignLab, the project integrated information design and data visualization directly into the scientific workflow. Rather than illustrating results after the fact, the design process actively shaped the development and articulation of the scientific concept itself. Through iterative co-creation, the team produced a visual communication toolkit aimed at fostering shared understanding of the concept of overshoot among policymakers, researchers, and wider audiences.

As part of this broader effort, CMCC also developed the Overshoot platform, an interactive digital space designed to make the science of temperature overshoot more accessible and policy-relevant. The platform translates complex climate scenarios into clear, navigable content, further strengthening the link between research, communication, and decision-making.

“Recognizing that overshoot is increasingly probable is not a justification for delay; it is an urgent call for faster and deeper action,” say the authors in the paper. “Every tenth of a degree above 1.5°C makes returning more difficult and locks in additional impacts.”

By addressing how overshoot is framed and understood, the project contributes to more coherent climate governance discussions at a time when every tenth of a degree matters.

The paper is available in the official proceedings of the World Design Congress 2025.