World Climate: Climate Change Negotiations Game

Tom Fiddaman

This simulation provides scenarios for exploring the principles of climate dynamics from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Interconnections among climate issues, public stakeholders, and the governance spheres are investigated through creative simulations designed to help students understand international climate change negotiations.

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Notes from our reviewers

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The original simulators may be best used for higher grade levels like college. [http://climateinteractive.org/simulations] Scroll down to the section "Ways to Get Started Planning" for the button labeled "Facilitator Guide and Materials" to get to activity and model.
Climate simulations provide an overview of climate-science for policy and political decision-making. Formerly called the Copenhagen Climate Exercise. Comments from expert scientist: Overall, this looks great and effectively combines experiential learning with fundamentals of climate politics and policy. The focus is on politics and policy negotiations, so only glancing attention paid to science as information input.
From the website description: "The simulation debrief tends to cover multiple areas including international geo-political dynamics, the biogeochemistry of climate, oceans, plants, the carbon cycle, tipping points, cultural barriers to global agreements, managing hope and fear amidst an uncertain future, a systems perspective on complex issues, and the technological legal and behavioral changes that will help stabilize the climate." "Overall we've seen World Climate help people quickly learn the policy-relevant science of climate change, viscerally experience the international dynamics, and succeed at crafting a solution to the challenges while taking a realistic look at the scale of changes ahead as we shift to a low-carbon global economy."
For some learners or learning environments, simplified simulators such as the Climate Bathtub Animation ([http://www.climateinteractive.org/tools/climate-bathtub-simulation/]) or the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Simulator ([http://www.climateinteractive.org/tools/mits-greenhouse-gas-simulator/]) may be more accessible or appropriate. Active role-playing scenarios can be customized or updated by educators to reflect the changing "climate" of decision-making.