Why are expectations so high?  

Since Paris, Glasgow is the first conference at which countries must present their updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which should include more ambitious emission reductions. So far, only 122 countries have submitted new NDCs. And even with those fresh commitments, the emission gap to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 stays worryingly large. This means that current commitments are not enough to limit global warming to 1.5°C, as agreed upon in Paris six years ago. To date, 46 countries have not submitted any NDCs at all.  

Many deem COP26 as the very last chance to finally get on track for the big goal of reaching net-zero by 2050. An utterly important milestone to reach this goal is the achievement of a 50% emission reduction until 2030. As the year draws to a close, 2030 is only 9 years away! This is not much time for the vast and systemic changes that must happen.  

Time is running out – this is the main reason COP26 must deliver.  

The Presidency of this year’s COP has identified four main goals which have to be achieved:  

1. This goal sets the scene: As already explained, securing net-zero by 2050 is existential to keeping global warming to 1.5°C and thus of utmost importance. 

2. Mobilising finance: The second most important and probably hottest discussed topic at this year’s conference will be finance. In Copenhagen 2009, wealthy countries committed to providing $100 bn annually from 2020 to 2025 in order to help developing countries finance mitigation and adaptation measures. Countries have fallen short of achieving this goal in 2020. Analyses show that global climate finance flows even need to increase substantially in the coming years.  

3. Adaptation and loss and damage are high on the agenda at this year’s conference. As mitigating climate change will not prevent extreme weather events and long-lasting changes in the earth system from happening, countries and communities need to adapt to the new normal, which will likely be an at least 1.5°C warmer world. Additionally, delegates want to find ways to better support communities, which are so severely affected that adaptation is not enough anymore. This falls under the umbrella of loss and damage, where finally meaningful improvements need to be seen. 

4. All stakeholders, including governments, businesses and the civil society must collaborate and work on solutions together in order to let action follow the promises and tackle the challenge lying ahead. Cooperation is key and indispensable. 

Thanks to our study programme’s support, a group of Global Change Ecology students was selected to participate in this year’s COP. We want to thank our coordination, especially Stephanie Thomas, and our head of course, Carl Beierkuhnlein, for providing this incredible opportunity.  

We will try to share as much of our experiences as possible with you, by posting on our Twitter and Instagram accounts and by publishing more extensive insights here on the GCE blog.  

Feel free to reach out to us in case of any enquiries or questions.  

Week 1 attendees: Kelly Heroux, Christoffer Johansson, Theresa Landwehr, Theresia Romann, Katja Scharrer, Selina Scheer, Sandra Schira, Steffen Schwardmann, Marco Thalhofer, Yun-Yun Tsai, Hannah Weishäupl, Carolin Wicke 

Week 2 attendees: Pia Bradler, Alexis Case, Hannah Pepe, Diana Miriam Pineda Fernández, Veronika Schlosser, Éverton Souza da Silva, Eva Späte, Gabriela Vielma, Ana Letitia Vital, Elena Wiese, Manuela Zindler 

The post Global Change Ecology at COP26 appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Why do we need to talk about the climate?

Covid-19 has shown that we are able to quickly react when our lives are in danger: We highly value human life. With Covid-19, we can see the immediate global impact. Our current actions have an impact on the Earth’s climate system and our future lives. In some regions of Earth, the consequences are drastic while in others the impacts of climate change are not yet apparent. Although already in a climate crisis, it is hard to imagine what future life will be like if we continue as we do. An ambitious climate policy requires a deeply engaged public that supports initiatives that will have an impact on their own behaviour and their lifestyle. Otherwise, if this social mandate is not given and the current governments implement ambitious climate policies, public unrest could be a result and the next government could easily take measures back. So, the public needs to get more engaged but the question is how we can achieve this?

For decades, there has been scientific consensus and we need climate science to assess the state of the Earth’s climate system and other sciences to assess its impact on us. But we do not need more knowledge to “convince” the public to act. We need to reach everyone and get the support by all sectors and all classes. Not everyone is reached through dry facts and scientific language. One way to reach the people you meet every day is by talking about climate change. Here, it is relevant to make sure you know how to successfully talk about this difficult topic. What I mean by “conversations about the climate” is bringing this topic to a more personal level. With the current crisis on top, we need more action, people need to be reminded that climate change needs at least the same attention and political will as Covid-19.

Role of stories and narratives

When communicating about climate change with friends, family or strangers, stories play a pivotal role. By asking more general, open questions like, “What is your experience with climate change?” your conversation partner gets the chance to use their own narrative. This way, you can begin to understand how your dialogue partner perceives climate change and gives you hints on how you can then reply to them.

Psychology

Today, finding solutions often requires interdisciplinary approaches. When we talk about climate change, there is no difference. These communication practices do not just build upon communication research, but research in social sciences and psychology. To be a better communicator, it is necessary to understand some findings of psychosocial research. First and foremost, when someone says something wrong, we sometimes tend to correct them; we want to right a wrong. However, by doing so, we may create a conflict, causing the other person to react defensively. It is not a good way to have a conversation.

Climate change is still a contested topic. Is it because of the way people raise the issue or because it is so difficult to grasp? What do you think is the issue?

Let’s start. Have you talked to a friend, relative, colleague or stranger about climate change before? Do they know your opinion? You can raise the issue by sharing your thoughts and your personal story—why you are personally engaged in climate action or effected by climate change. Are you trying to convince local politicians to implement more ambitious climate change policies because you are afraid of your children’s future? Or, do you want to decarbonize your consumption patterns to become a role model and protect the beauty of nature left to us by our forefathers? Many people have an individual story, but these remain unshared unless you speak out.

Discussing climate change can have surprising effects. You might be surprised that your neighbor is aware of the issue but does not know where to start a personal transformation process such as reducing their carbon footprint. You could team up to support each other. On the other hand, you might provoke a completely different result. Your grandfather or sister is close to you, but it turns out they do not want to change anything. What do you do? Instead of pointing fingers and blaming them, you could first listen. What do they have to say? Let them speak and maybe you can still find some common ground. Even if you do not understand or support their opinion, it is important to remain respectful, and listen; do not try to correct them.

More practical tips to start with. If you are interested in leading conversations about climate change, here are some tips for how to spark a friendly conversation. To avoid ambushing anyone, you can simply ask if your friend is willing to talk about climate change. If the answer is positive, consider starting with an open question that makes clear you are interested in your friend’s story. You want to understand your friend, so just listen and make sure not to interrupt. You will probably learn something new about your friend by just listening.

Climate Outreach, is a British non-profit organization researching better ways of communicating climate change. They have released a handbook on how to talk about climate change. The guide is a result of a citizen science project called #TalkingClimate. For one month, seven-hundred participants from all over the world, including myself, led climate change conversations and filled out a survey about their experiences. Have a look for more guidance and become an activist. Let’s start talking about climate change.

Sources, further reading and videos:

Books:

Adam Corner, Jamie Clarke: Talking Climate: From Research to Practice in Public Engagement

George Marshall: Don’t Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change

Talks:

Ted Talk by George Marshall: I have learnt the most about climate change from those who deny it.

Ted Talk by Renée Lertzman: How to turn climate anxiety into action.

The post Do you want to talk about the climate? appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Students of Global Change Ecology have a reputation for being creatively engaged citizens and Steffen Schwardmann is no exception. Having just completed his second semester at the University of Bayreuth, he has also launched a podcast, Stories of Climate Change Hope. I invited Steffen to an interview to better understand where he’s coming from with the podcast and where he hopes to go with it.

When did you first become interested in climate change?

Well, the very first time I heard about climate change was during the geography lessons in high school but did not pay so much attention to it then. When I was pursuing a B.A in Political Science in 2015, I became much more interested. At that time, I attended a seminar on climate policy which was held at a similar time as COP 21 in Paris. However, at the time, it was all too abstract to be honest. It is interesting how one can learn about climate policy without knowing too much about the Earth’s climate system itself. This has changed since I began studying Global Change Ecology at the University of Bayreuth. Here, I spend a lot of time on this issue and related topics. It has already helped me a lot to expand my knowledge and satisfy my curiosity.

What inspired you to become more engaged?

There are the numerous young people who are concerned about our future, who are brave and have inspired me. I am amazed to see these young people who do not mind if others criticize them or maybe they mind but go ahead anyway. And I am like, “Hell yeah, I need to do more!” We shouldn’t underestimate young people. And then a few books influenced me that I’d recommend. The first is Don’t Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change by George Marshall, founder of Climate Outreach, a British organization using social science methods to find better ways to communicate climate change. Marshall argues that when communicating climate change, we need to focus on our common values and the social environment. We do not see the world from the same frame, right? One key insight for me is how important it is to approach those circles I am usually not in contact with. This is something general: You learn more from the people you do not understand than those you meet every day. Two other books that inspired me a lot are Active Hope – How to Face the Mess We’re in without Going Crazy by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, and Climate: A New Story by Charles Eisenstein.

Do you consider yourself a climate activist?

This is a very good question. I have asked this myself a couple of times. In the past, I always regarded activists as engaged people who would go out on the streets and voice their concerns by protesting or through mass demonstration. However, I have realized that one can be an activist just by staying indoors and using social media, maintaining a blog or being a podcast host to voice their concern. So, this is especially interesting for the more introverted among us —we can all be activists. I guess with the podcast I have found something dear I like to do. Someone else might find something different. Being out in the open and voicing your opinion can create anxiety. In May, when I published the first episode, I was very nervous and asked myself “Is it good enough? Will people like it?” One must start at some point. As a podcast host I accepted that with every episode I will improve. So, yes, I consider myself an activist.

What were you hoping to add to the many conversations about climate change already in place?

There are a lot of science-based podcasts and podcasts with a topical focus on solutions to our crisis. But what comes short? When the news of a grim future is spread, we need to be aware that this can create anxiety and even depression for some people. So, with my podcast, I do not just want to spread hope, but also aim at getting people engaged with climate change. Engagement can help to get a different perspective and action helps through struggle. And that is essentially why I invite working people, engaged people, concerned people to talk about their personal story of commitment to solving this issue. To me personally, it is of the utmost importance to spread diverse narratives. There are so many different perspectives and reasons to become more engaged. To underline this diversity, I need to invite more people from groups and organizations that can share a new point of view, beyond green and ecological framing. One podcast that inspired me is called Climate Crisis Conversation – Catastrophe or Transformation hosted by Verity Sharp for the Climate Psychology Alliance.

What, if any, is/was the learning curve in recording and publishing your own podcast?

In the beginning, I only had some knowledge of using a microphone from my high school days in a rock band. Besides that, I did not have much experience. This is what makes podcasting so great. It is very easy to start and get into it. You find all kinds of tutorials, reviews, and manuals online. In comparison to three months ago, I feel much more confident now.

Who would you like to host on your show and why?

Oh, there are a few potential guests I’d like to invite, e.g. a concerned mom, a concerned dad, a business owner, a start-up owner, someone working in public administration, an electrician, a mechanic, an economist, a farmer…. I’d love to invite more people whose voices aren’t heard in the public so strongly. If you know someone who’d like to talk about climate change, hope, anxiety, or something related, they can get in touch.

What is your goal in having the podcast? What do you wish to accomplish?

I feel the podcast needs more followers to have a bigger impact. My goal is to spread a little bit of hope every other week, making people more resilient, underlining that everyone can become more engaged. You do not need to call yourself an activist to be engaged; even talking to your friends and family about climate change is something worthwhile. My personal goal is to get more familiar with podcasting, find like-minded people, work on my own anxiety by having all those inspiring guests, and create something beautiful, something I can be proud of.

What is your long-term vision for the podcast?

My long term vision? Hm…. Until December I’m figuring this whole podcasting thing out. Then, next year, I want to try to have let’s say a more structural approach. What do I mean by that? One would be to broaden the scope, not just cover the topic of talking about climate change, but include biodiversity, land cover change among others. Second, have one topical focus every quarter, e.g. drought and farming or climate justice. Third, let the podcast be more interactive, e.g. letting listeners join the show, hosting live shows, making the podcast more exciting by adding other elements like sound effects or more music.

What is one insight, point, or consideration, about climate change communication that you would shout from the rooftops so everyone could hear?

Okay, so imagine me shouting from the rooftops: Listen! Create a dialogue! You do not have to understand everything, every opinion, every point of view! Decrease polarization! Overall, stay respectful!

You can find Steffen’s podcast Stories of Climate Change Hope HERE as well as on Podbean, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. If you would like to contact Steffen, he welcomes you to do so via email at stories.climatehope[at]gmail.com.

The post Stories of Climate Change Hope, a Podcast appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

In addition to the fact that it is the first global report on land use, it could also be described as the most ‘inclusive’ IPCC report to date. The report has more contributor scientists from the global south than the global north and 40% female scientists. Simultaneously, this highlights the growing importance of the topic, and the rising interest in the question in the global south.

The body of knowledge on climate change, its causes, consequences and mechanisms is already extensive. I think that what we need is more awareness raising, and more climate action, for a better future for everyone. Therefore, every new IPCC reports is a good occasion to debate the climatic crisis.

Land use and Climate Change

The first chapter is a general introduction to the issue. It presents the scope of the report and the related topics to land use that will be undertaken. Land use describes the activities, arrangements and inputs that humans use to modify the land cover according to their interests and needs. These activities could result in more greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, or on the contrary, result in a decrease of greenhouse gases. Since humans directly affect around 70% of the global ice-free land surface, this issue and its impact on the climate and the climate action is of extreme importance.

Land use and the climate

The second chapter of the report treats the land-climate interaction in detail, building on the accumulated knowledge of the previous IPCC reports. The land use and climate change interactions are difficult to forecast, as they intertwine in a complex net of casualties and action-reaction. Nonetheless, the general trends are well described in the report, as well as their potential outcomes.

The growing human pressure on land is driving the greenhouse emissions to increase beyond the fixed limits to mitigate climate change. Moreover, the land is used more intensively and extensively to satisfy an increasing food demand through agricultural production. Compared to the pre-industrial levels, this caused the mean temperature over land to increase by 1.5°C, compared to the global 1°C increase over land and ocean. 

The pressure on the land comes from increasing pressure for resources and agricultural products. for example, since 1961, the total production of cereals increased by 240%. This results in increased land degradation and adverse effects on the ecosystems, and interacts also with the climate.

According to the report, the current changing trends of the climate will have potential benefits to agriculture in high latitude areas, as it will expand the arable lands in the north. But eventually, it will trigger a chain of events (known as feedback loops) such as snow melting and release of methane and CO2 in the atmosphere that will lead to further warming and climate extreme events in many parts of the world. These consequences will negatively affect land use and agricultural production in many areas, such as drylands. This will probably exacerbate the negative land use practices even more. It could also put the food security of large populations at risk.

Land degradation

Chapters 3 and 4 of the report treat the topic of desertification and land degradation. In addition to the study of the ongoing processes and their impacts, they present future scenarios and projections.

Among the consequences of climate change, the intensification of the hydrological cycle will lead to more intense rainfalls which in turn will result in increased soil erosion and land degradation. In dry regions of the world, land degradation will happen because of decreased rainfall and increased warming and leading to desertification. In both cases, it will cause the loss of fertile soil and vegetation. The report claims that a sustainable management of land could prevent land and forest degradation. It would alsod contribute to reversing the negative effects of climate change. In turn, this could support the implementation and achievements of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), and even create benefits for adaptation measures. The three last chapters (5-6-7) focus on food security, sustainable development and risk management. They present useful insights on the current opportunities to limit the adverse effects of the combined land use-climate change effect. They also present how new policies and governance approaches could lead to a more sustainable way of living. That could avoid a climatic worst case scenario, and preserve the environmental rights of future generations.

We are on a crossroad

My take home message from the report, is that the situation of land use is critical. Humans are approaching a crossroad, in which we will have to choose a development path. This choice will have huge consequences on the climate, positively or negatively, and consequently on humanity’s future ways of life.

Accordingly, humans need to adopt a less economist evaluation of the value of lands and land exploitation in general. Perusing pure economic profit-driven interests will only lead to the further degradation of the environment and destabilization of the climate. Knowing that the consequences of such actions will not be distributed equally means that there will be winners and losers.  This leaves no doubt that the current exploitation of the earth and its resources will not change spontaneously.

Sources:
Press release https://www.ipcc.ch/2019/08/08/land-is-a-critical-resource_srccl/
Climate change and land, summary for policymakers: https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2019/08/4.-SPM_Approved_Microsite_FINAL.pdf
Climate change and Land https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl-report-download-page/

The post Climate Change and Land Report – Why this report is important and why we all should care about land use… appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Emily was cleaning bicycle when her father arrived. “Please turn off the tap Emily you don’t need this amount of water for cleaning”, he requested.

“Dad we have plenty of water in the pipe”, Esther replied sweetly.

“Not always my dear, some cities in the world don’t have enough water for drinking or cleaning bicycle like this”, he explained. “Really? Where in the world is there less water?” she asked.

“Let me tell you a story“- her father said.

“I always like your stories dad please start”, girl said impatiently.  “Please turn off the tap”, he said and started..

Terry Burner the owner of several Real Estate business and Car Washing facilities in Southern California was enjoying his Easter Holidays in Barcelona. He was a man who had inherited his grandfather’s small garage and had doubled the profit over the past decade. Known for his excellent money-making schemes, Terry was walking around the beach in his polo hotel t-shirt, when he saw a man in his mid-thirties coming towards him.

“You seem like a rich man”, the man prompted.

“Certainly I am”, Terry affirmed.

“If you don’t mind, can I get some water”, he asked.

“Yes, why not, please have it”, Terry offered his half filled metal bottle.

While the young man was fulfilling his metabolic needs Terry was staring at him in surprise.

The man finished and said, “Do you know Cape Town is getting dry?”.

Terry exclaimed, “What? I didn’t know. I am not following Africa lately”.

“You must know the story, rich guy”, the man replied.

The young man – who looked like a control freak – began: “The population of Cape Town in South Africa has roughly doubled in the last two decades whereas its water resources have increased very slowly. The city experienced indeed dry days in the past. But now, scientists believe climate change has intensified the recently experienced drought events, thus resulting in water shortage”. With this the young man stopped and asked: “What do you think Sir?

“I think Climate Change may be a reason for the drought events,  but the ignorance of the Cape Town City administration cannot be overruled. They could have prepared better infrastructure in fighting drought”, Terry responded.

“You are reasonably correct sir. Six dams were completely filled in 2014 and city administration assumed  future rainfall pattern would resemble past. However, three straight years of drought changed everything. No one in the government anticipated this”, said the man.

“But my dear friend” – inquired Terry – “Cape Town authorities could learn from California where $7.5 billion dollar water bond was approved with 67 percent vote. Century old laws were replaced and water usage was monitored”.

“I hope they learn from experience in California” – replied the man – “but do you think we are underestimating the impacts of climate change with a situation like this? Researchers from University of Cape Town acknowledged they had never expected such a rapid impact of climate change. What is your take on this?” the man asked Terry.

“Let me be very blunt here”, Terry said looking at him. “Climate Change is affecting all of us but we can’t simply blame all problems on it”

“For instance – said Terry – when I inherited my family business, it was running in debt. So I decided to change the system by creating a new customer base and by diversifying our spending from garage to car washing and real estate. I promoted also the use of technology and adopted efficient trade practices”.

“What do you mean by technology and efficient trade practices?” asked the man.

“Well, about 60% of my car washing facilities and other offices use treated wastewater, all our toilets are flushed with gray water and we reward employees for their water saving efforts. These are some initiatives, I assume people in other parts of the world – and Cape Town officials – are also doing this”, Terry pointed.

“Well, Cape Towners have successfully pushed Day Zero by reducing water consumption by 60%: people showered in 90 seconds avoided wastage of water, reused gray water. Moreover, Cape Town officials cut irrigation supply, constructed water collection points and rigorously worked for a water saving campaign”, explained the man.

“What is Day Zero? And I am sorry, are you a Cape Towner ?” Terry asked. “You seem to be very concerned about the city!”.

The young man replied: “Day Zero is when the city reservoir reaches 13.5 % of its total capacity, which means authorities have to cut off water supply to three quarters of population.”

Before the man could elaborate further, Terry’s phone beeped. Terry with open eyes said “I am afraid I have a skype call now. I have to go, but it was nice meeting you Mr…?

“Mr. Rigo Flech”, the young man answered.

They shook hands. Rigo added “And the answer to your last question is Yes, I am a Cape Towner and once I owned a car washing facility and a small motel in Cape Town”.

After having said this, the young man walked away. In some minutes Terry was back in hotel thinking about Rigo.

Next morning near an old Heritage garden of Barcelona, Terry saw a beautiful fountain but what stuck him was a small bird showering in water. Remembering the young Rigo he smiled and mumbled: “You have have left me numb Cape Town bird Rigo”.

“What did he do after?”, Emily interrupted.

“He googled “Cape Town drought”, dad smiled and said.

“Can we avert a crisis like this or people keep migrating from there?”, Emily inquired.

“Hope Terry has a solution”, he grinned.

“I got my answer Dad, not wasting water anymore”, she admitted.

“Every year thousands of bird migrate in search of food and nesting. While we may know the science but there is a always a story. Rigo was one of those birds who left Cape Town for a better life”. You can be next..

(Terry Burner, Rigo Fletch, and Emily are fictional characters and all the facts provided in the story are borrowed from articles listed.)

References

• https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/04/15/how-the-drought-changed-california-forever/
• https://www.npr.org/2016/03/18/469799456/in-california-dealing-with-a-drought-and-preparing-for-a-flood
• https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/02/cape-town-running-out-of-water-drought-taps-shutoff-other-cities/
• www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/cape-town-drought-water-shortage-luxury-five-star-hotels-day-zero-laundry-showers-toilet-flush-pool-a8191966.html
• https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/why-april-rainfall-is-key-to-stave-off-cape-towns-day-zero-20180409
• https://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-drought/cape-town-day-zero-pushed-back-to-2019-as-dams-fill-up-in-south-africa-idUSKCN1HA1LN

The post The Bird of Cape Town appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

1. What is the World Climate Simulation?

Developed by the think tank Climate Interactive, in partnership with the MIT School of Management and the University of Massachusetts Lowell, the World Climate simulation is a simplified UN negotiation. The model uses C-ROADS – a climate policy software – where agreed climate policies are entered and climate patterns get projected until the end of the century. Having had so far an astonishing success, this simulation has been carried out since 2008 over 800 times with over 38000 participants worldwide.

“Education is our strongest weapon to fight Climate Change”

When I first heard about World Climate, I was captured by the convincing arguments – such as the one above – shared during the Education Side Events at COP23 in Bonn. Motivated by the positive impacts this simulation has had and as a Global Change Ecology Master student, I decided to share with young future Latin American leaders this learning experience as well.

2. Game participants: Latin American young graduates

With the support of the KAAD (Catholic Academic Exchange Service) and as part of the Latin American Seminar for scholarship holders held from 2nd-4th February 2018, the World Climate simulation was carried out with 32 participants from 13 different countries.

The weekend-long seminar offered cross-sectorial training for Latin Americans studying in Germany. The seminar focused on the topic “El Buen Vivir” or “good living”, an alternative development concept that gathers South American indigenous wisdom to deliver sustainable answers to current social and environmental challenges.

Within this framework, the World Climate simulation aimed to put participants in the spotlight and give them the responsibility to take political decisions that affect mankind’s and nature’s future with the goal of achieving the good common life.

3. Let the game start

The 32 graduate students from 13 different nationalities were divided for the World Climate Simulation into 6 regional groups to represent China, India, European Union, USA, Other developed countries and Other developing countries. The simulation was carried out in the following way: As a facilitator I welcomed participants, introduced them to the C-ROADS model and World Climate simulation. I also made participants aware of the realistic (scientific facts and emotions) and unrealistic (simulated negotiation) elements of the simulation.

The simulation started when I (as facilitator) adopted the role of Patricia Espinosa (UNFCCC) and participants adopted their respective roles as nation’s delegates.

Photos courtesy of: Yasuo Matsuzaki

Overall, the workshop took about 2.5 hours. Key scientific facts about the Climate Change problematic were introduced first with a slide presentation and handouts to participants (materials available here).

There were two negotiation rounds, each of 20 minutes, after which proposals by delegates were collected on a flipchart and then entered in the C-ROADS software. In the first round the negotiations led to a projected temperature by the year 2100 of about 3.1°C, after the second round, negotiations improved the climate outlook with a 2.9°C temperature increase, thus not meeting the expected Paris agreement goals.

After the negotiations the role-play session concluded. Participants gathered in a circle to give their impressions of the session.

A 2.9°C warmer world, can we do better?

The impressions of the session focused on three key questions: (1) How did you feel during the simulation? Weak or powerful? (2) What were your most important learnings? (3) How do you think we could achieve the ambitious climate action?

Participants highlighted the powerful impact the simulation has left on them, as they experienced directly the need for more ambitious political and civil society initiatives. Participants also brainstormed on solutions from their own professional backgrounds, starting with sustainable consumption, trade and markets, education for sustainability and legal and fiscal mechanisms so implement political action.

There is space for improvements

Here I list some aspects for further improvements when running the World Climate simulation

1. Briefing statements could contain more concrete economic facts for region delegates to negotiate better. Sending reading material in advance may also help.
2. Having “developing countries” delegates sitting on the floor to metaphorically refer to unbalanced geopolitical relations may not be the best call. Ask in advance, as participants may take this personally. Alternatively find milder ways of representing power relations in the simulation.
3. Adapt examples of climate change impacts to your audience backgrund. I used Latin American cases, to engage Latin American audience with at-home ongoing issues.

Emotions were key, audience became aware, goal was achieved

As an individual aiming to spread the word for climate action outside the scientific circles, the opportunity to run the World Climate simulation with a very diverse audience was deeply motivating, empowering and touching.

It was truly fantastic to see how, regardless of the professional background, participants would engage and discuss the urgent need to limit global warming by the end of the century in our small simulated world that day.

Professionals from different fields such as international business, history, medicine, law and even philosophy would leave their “comfort zones” for two hours and experiment in the roles of politicians and advocates to decide for what is good for one or for all nations.

Personally speaking, it was touching to see how the message of climate action can and must spread outside the barriers of natural science. I closed that day’s World Climate session by reminding the participants that having a more powerful role in society was in fact not needed, as our position as organized and aware citizens in society is in fact powerful enough.

The World Climate simulation is a strong tool that beyond a climate action narrative, sends out a message of strength and empowerment, especially important for youth leaders from the global south.

Within the framework of the good common life or “Buen vivir”, the lesson learnt as professionals, regardless of the role or position we may have, is that we shall never forget that life on this planet is our highest responsibility and main goal. That is what Climate Action stands for.

Special thanks

The World Climate simulation was possible thanks to the KAAD Catholic Exchange Service support and thanks to the facilitator advices provided by Eduardo Fracassi (ITBA Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires, Argentina).

References

• World Climate simulation website
• Facilitator Resources and Materials here
• To play around: C-ROADS online
• KAAD press release here

The post 13 countries, one game – A call for Climate Action appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Title: “Uniting for Climate Education Further, Faster, Together through Partnerships”
Place and time: 11:30 – 13:00 , Meeting Room 6, Bonn Zone

The solutions to climate change are also the paths to a safer, healthier, cleaner and more prosperous future for all, said this morning Patricia Espinoza, UNFCCC Executive Secretary. However, for such a future to become a reality, people in all countries and at all levels of society need to have a better understanding of the issue and get involved. In this context, a better future cannot exist without education. That is why Article 12 of the Paris Agreement, focused on enhancing climate change education, was the first to be agreed upon by countries.

Article 12. Parties shall cooperate in taking measures, as appropriate, to enhance climate change education, training, public awareness, public participation and public access to information, recognizing the importance of these steps with respect to enhancing actions under this Agreement.

On Education Day at COP23, the COP23 Presidency in partnership with UNFCCC, UNESCO, the UN Alliance on Climate Change, Education, Training and Public Awareness and the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection hosted a high-level event. Here, together environment and education ministers, as well as international organizations, meet to discuss partnerships for education as the key to prepare societies for global change and an integral part of any strategy to combat climate change and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

SDG 4.  Quality Education” & “SDG 13.  Climate Action

Patricia Espinoza’s speech included some statistics about a recent worldwide citizen survey on climate change. To the question what do you think it is the best instrument to reduce the level of greenhouse gases emissions?, instead of electric cars or reforestation, 77% of people chose education and supported the idea of education in the middle or long term would trigger the implementation of climate solutions. Besides, later on, she claimed that only 40% of Parties have include climate change in their educational curricula, which disrupts the local action and the innovative students and young people to take action.

Princess Lalla Hasnaa of Morocco highlighted as well the undeniable importance of Climate Education for changing people’s perception and behaviour through education is the way to create long-lasting positive impact. Indeed, transforming our societies towards low carbon and resilience means changing values, norms and behaviour, in other words:

<< It’s time to pay attention to ‘education for social change’ strategies and create more examples in the climate change community too. >>
– Shyamal Majumdar, UNESCO

Finally, Dessina Williams from the department of SDGs implementation added that to do it truly effective right partnerships are still required. All speakers strongly concluded that there is a gap between what it is happening, what we already know and what we should do to address the issue.  

The key messages overall were:

• Education as a key driver in the implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• It is still required to provide further guidance on how education can be integrated into NDCs.
• Keep working to set up strategic orientations and priority actions for anchoring climate change education and Education for Sustainable Development in national education policies and systems at government level sectors and at sub-national and local levels.
• It is time to recognise good practices linking climate change education and the SDGs.

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