DICKINSON PARTICIPATES IN THE WORLD CLIMATE SIMULATION

In September we conducted a simulation of the international climate negotiations, invitiing students from a First Year Seminar to join us. We used the World Climate exercise of Climate Interactive. In the exercise, we divided into three groups corresponding to developed countries, rapidly emerging economies, and least developed countries. Each group convened at the start of the 3-hour simulation to set objectives and develop negotiating strategies to attain their objectives. The teams then engaged in three rounds of negotiations to agree emission targets and funding for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. The simulation is aided by C-LEARN, an online model that projects future greenhouse gas concentrations, global mean temperature change, and sea level rise for different emission paths.

Students’ reflections on the exercise can be found in our blog for the week of September 19. This was a great learning experience and we recommend World Climate to other educators. You can find out how to use the exercise here.