2. background
• Greenpeace UK commissioned an infographic
for a report on McKinsey’s Marginal Abatement
Cost Curve (MAC).
3. background
• The MAC curve is a bar chart which describes a
set of different options available to reduce
carbon emissions.
• MAC curves are a succession of different
steps, each one being a different potential
measure,
– its height represents its cost
– its width represents the amount of carbon abatement
it could deliver.
4. MAC Curve issues
• some issues with McKinsey’s curve.
– 1. McKinsey has never been transparent about the
data and assumptions used for the curve calculation.
• That is, there has never been any scientific peer review of
any of the calculations made to draw the MAC curve.
5. MAC Curve issues
• some issues with McKinsey’s curve.
– 2. there are issues about the underestimating or
overestimating of certain measures represented in the
curve.
• The MAC curve suffers of oversimplification of the
representation of an economy, as it doesn’t take in account
many of the interactions and evolvements of an economic
environment.
6. The design process
• a structural sketch of the visualization
– we worked closely with Greenpeace by sending them
a structural sketch of the visualization, showed in the
image below.
7.
8. The design process
• This schematic was then sent back to us by
Greenpeace, with annotations about
changes, ratings, and order of the various
sections.
• changes have been radical: Greenpeace
wanted the MAC curve to cover the whole
spread while other details work as “reading
guides” to the curve.
9.
10. The final artwork
• Greenpeace highlighted some issues of the McKinsey’s
curve and we decided to represent each of them with an
illustration able to convey the message contained in the
description boxes.
• In the top part of the visualization there are the three
main reasons why the McKinsey’s Marginal Abatement
Cost curve is not a reliable tool while in the main section
of the map a few examples columns are highlighted in
the graph. The connection between the curve graph and
the illustrations is strengthened by the representation of
a three dimensional column in each of the illustrations.
11. The final artwork
• In the top part of the visualization
– there are the three main reasons why the McKinsey’s
Marginal Abatement Cost curve is not a reliable tool
– in the main section of the map a few examples
columns are highlighted in the graph.
– The connection between the curve graph and the
illustrations is strengthened by the representation of a
three dimensional column in each of the illustrations.
12.
13. The design process
• The visualization has been included in the
Greenpeace report about McKinsey’s MAC
curve and its effects on REDD
