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.

The Capacity Development Workshop held on Monday February 19th, was led by the International Forestry Student Association (IFSA), the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) and trained 50 international Youth delegates on accelerating efforts to halt deforestation. Furthermore, Youth proposals were collected for later High Level UN Political Agendas.

Halting or not halting deforestation, that is the question

Forests are our best asset to combat climate change and they are key in securing food, water and ecosystem services for mankind survival. Despite of their fundamental role to sustain life on this planet, we keep on losing them at terrifying annual rates.

With the current rate of deforestation, there will be no forests left within the next 100 years.

Given that deforestation is in the eyes of a conservationist an ecological tragedy and in the eyes of the investor a money-making opportunity, we need to reconcile these opposing interests.

Youth ideas feed UN Plan for Forests

In order to contribute to and accelerate global forest goals and SDGs, the workshop in the morning of February 19th led by Wageningen University (Netherlands) collected Youth proposals for the Halting Deforestation Conference (CPF). Discussions went about how to have an integrated management of lands at the landscape level: where different actors of society, different land use types and different instutional frameworks are best combined to ensure forests protection and sustainable management.

Desmitifying Gender in Forest Conservation Efforts

After the morning session on the Landscape approach, the noon session led by Taylor Tondelli (FAO) touched with the Youth delegates on the importance of mainstreaming gender in efforts to halt deforestation. To see, what we did exactly, check out the video below.

I found this group dynamic to be extremely mind-opening. Participants had assigned roles. We were all standing in one single line and as Ms. Tondelli would read statements we had to give either a step forward (yes) or backwards (no), depending on whether read power statements matched our roles. Example: one would give a step forward if in the role of a woman community leader one would have “political influence on the community” or a step backwards if “at night one wouldn’t feel secure to walk alone”. At the end of this power dynamic, assigned roles revealed high assymetries in power distribution across different societal actors.

Make our voices heard

Throughout the Capacity Development Workshop Youth delegates worked on global proposals to halt deforestation: ideas ranged from experimental urban jungles, to mainstreaming deforestation through comedy and art and music for collective awareness.

All Youth proposals were collected in the afternoon session by IFSA and GLF Sponsored Youth in Landscapes delegates. Youth Proposals to halt deforestation will contribute to the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017 – 2030 and will be presented at the 13th Session of the UN Forum on Forests this May.

Finally, selected Youth delegates prepared online content for the IFSA short course on Halting Deforestation. You can see here, what the results of these hours working on solutions are.

Quick links

IFSA Short course on deforestation Check out now (!)

Halting Deforestation Conference

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