Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?

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Kate O'NEILL

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Jul 26, 2021, 4:47:15 PM7/26/21
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Hello everyone,

(Apologies for cross-posting)

I hope wherever you’re at in the year is treating you well. I am teaching an on-line and asynchronous summer course right now, and because why not, I have them doing a mock climate negotiation. There are only 40 students, they’ll be in groups of 10 (10 countries in each), and they have a complex, 4 article resolution to discuss. I’m a bit worried about the final part where they discuss and debate positions and try to come up with an agreement. But we can’t do anything live, it’ll carry on over 3-5 days as they add to discussion posts as and when they can. Has anyone tried this? Any tips on getting conversations started and keeping them going? Or apps you’ve used to facilitate these/keep discussions focused?

They are doing opening statements with zoom backgrounds from their assigned countries! 

I’ve called it a climate “politics” exercise, not a “negotiations” one, as they’ll be reflecting as they go, and we don’t have time for the full-on, regular semester version. This is a 6 week course. 

Happy to share what we collectively come up with,

Thanks!

Kate

***************************************
Kate O'Neill
Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management,
Associate Dean, Office of Instructional and Student Affairs at the Rausser College of Natural Resources
University of California at Berkeley
Unceded Chochenyo Ohlone Lands 

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Wil Burns

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Jul 26, 2021, 5:49:45 PM7/26/21
to Prof. G. Bothun, Kate O'NEILL, 'GEP-Ed List, ESSf...@aessonline.org

I believe it’s a fundamental mistake to teach climate change in this fashion. Professor Bothun is assuredly correct that climate change manifestations are upon us, and substantially more is “baked in” given the fact that models indicate that temperatures would rise an additional 0.8C even if we all crawled into caves today. Having said that, however, the policies and measures that we take to decarbonize the global economy, and our time schedule for doing so, will have a profound impact on whether we ultimately hold temperatures to 2-3C above pre-industrial levels, or end up in the RCP8.5 worst case scenario territory, with temperatures rising 4-5C. So, the focus here is not on “preventing climate change,” but rather “preventing the worst possible manifestations of climate change.”

Also, a singular focus on climate adaptation is likely to lead some students to believe that we can “live” with large amounts of climate change, which is much more the case for well-resourced nations such as the United States than most developing countries. For many countries in the South, full-throated mitigation policies by major emitters are critical, and I think it’s important in simulations to have students explore these options, and the equitable arguments for compelling more aggressive mitigation measures by the top 10 emitters.

 

wil

 

 

 

 

 

 

WIL BURNS

Visiting Professor

Environmental Policy & Culture Program

Northwestern University

 

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From: Prof. G. Bothun <big...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2021 4:02 PM
To: Kate O'NEILL <kmon...@berkeley.edu>
Cc: 'GEP-Ed List <gep...@googlegroups.com>; ESSf...@aessonline.org
Subject: Re: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?

 

I have done similar exercises but have had the most success by having groups adopt countries and analyze

 

a) what the main effects of climate change will be on their country and how

might that impact GDP

b) what kinds of adaptations can be done to cope with these changes

c) what is a likely financial cost, in terms of fractional GDP

 

Personally, I have long believed that climate change, in the form of severe regional weather,

has been upon us for the last ten years so I find it counterproductive to have students deal

with "politics and policy to prevent climate change".  I find it more productive to have them focus on the issues of a) climate change is here, b) what kind of adaptation needs to occur, c) what

policies must come into place to make it significantly worse (it will get incrementally worse regardless of what we do now).

 

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Wil Burns

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Jul 26, 2021, 6:01:38 PM7/26/21
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Yes, the Bangladesh example is a quintessential example on why we need to train students to understand concepts beyond adaptation, including loss and damage concepts, e.g. mandatory re-settlement protocols and liability. These can also be built into simulations.

 

Wil

 

 

 

 

 

WIL BURNS

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Institute for Carbon Removal Law & Policy

American University

 

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From: Prof. G. Bothun <big...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2021 4:56 PM
To: Wil Burns <w...@feronia.org>
Cc: Kate O'NEILL <kmon...@berkeley.edu>; 'GEP-Ed List <gep...@googlegroups.com>; ESSf...@aessonline.org
Subject: Re: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?

 

Building somewhat on that, I have also found students to be pretty engaged with the idea

that "climate change adaptation" is highly differential and mostly inequitable on a global scale, so 

what should the world do to fund and sustain equitable adaptation?   When Bangladesh is under water (

(2065 is my prediction) due to storm surges - what will the world do then accommodate, by then,

about 200 million people?   Getting students to underscale scale, I think is important in this regard.

Wil Burns

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Jul 26, 2021, 9:07:33 PM7/26/21
to Allison M. Chatrchyan, Prof. G. Bothun, Kate O'NEILL, 'GEP-Ed List, essf...@aessonline.org

Here’s a direct quote: “Personally, I have long believed that climate change, in the form of severe regional weather,

has been upon us for the last ten years so I find it counterproductive to have students deal

with "politics and policy to prevent climate change". 

 

That strongly implies that one shouldn’t spend time on mitigation issues.

 

wil

 

 

 

 

 

WIL BURNS

Co-Director & Professor of Practice

Institute for Carbon Removal Law & Policy

American University

 

Email: wbu...@american.edu

Mobile: 312.550.3079

 

917 Forest Ave., #3S, Evanston, IL 60202

 

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From: Allison M. Chatrchyan <amc...@cornell.edu>
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2021 7:55 PM
To: Wil Burns <w...@feronia.org>

Cc: Prof. G. Bothun <big...@gmail.com>; Kate O'NEILL <kmon...@berkeley.edu>; 'GEP-Ed List <gep...@googlegroups.com>; essf...@aessonline.org
Subject: Re: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?

 

You might want to keep the snarky tone out of the email responses. We’re all aware of how drastic climate change is and how insufficient the response is. We’re all trying to work on this issue and teach students to take it seriously, and force governments to act. I don’t think he said he teaches with a “singular focus on adaptation.” 

Kind Regards, Allison



On Jul 26, 2021, at 5:49 PM, Wil Burns <w...@feronia.org> wrote:



I believe it’s a fundamental mistake to teach climate change in this fashion. Professor Bothun is assuredly correct that climate change manifestations are upon us, and substantially more is “baked in” given the fact that models indicate that temperatures would rise an additional 0.8C even if we all crawled into caves today. Having said that, however, the policies and measures that we take to decarbonize the global economy, and our time schedule for doing so, will have a profound impact on whether we ultimately hold temperatures to 2-3C above pre-industrial levels, or end up in the RCP8.5 worst case scenario territory, with temperatures rising 4-5C. So, the focus here is not on “preventing climate change,” but rather “preventing the worst possible manifestations of climate change.”

Also, a singular focus on climate adaptation is likely to lead some students to believe that we can “live” with large amounts of climate change, which is much more the case for well-resourced nations such as the United States than most developing countries. For many countries in the South, full-throated mitigation policies by major emitters are critical, and I think it’s important in simulations to have students explore these options, and the equitable arguments for compelling more aggressive mitigation measures by the top 10 emitters.

 

wil

 

 

 

<image005.jpg>

 

 

 

Dale W Jamieson

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Jul 26, 2021, 9:46:47 PM7/26/21
to Wil Burns, Allison M. Chatrchyan, Prof. G. Bothun, Kate O'NEILL, 'GEP-Ed List, essf...@aessonline.org
prof bothun is correct that climate change cannot be prevented.  will is correct in thinking that, even so, policy and politics matter.   that both of these claims are true was an important theme of my 2015 book:

Reason in a Dark Time: Why the Struggle Against Climate Change Failed -- and What It Means for Our Future

**********************
Dale Jamieson
Professor of Environmental Studies and Philosophy
Affiliated Professor of Law, Affiliated Professor of Medical Ethics, Affiliated Professor of Bioethics
Director, Center for Environmental and Animal Protection
New York University
285 Mercer Street, 7th floor
New York NY 10003-6653
https://as.nyu.edu/content/nyu-as/as/faculty/dale-jamieson.html

Recent Article: "Climate Change, Liberalism, and the Public/Private Distinction," uncorrected proofs available at https://www.academia.edu/45641562/Climate_Change_Liberalism_and_the_Public_Private_Distinction_with_Dale_Jamieson


Recent Book: Oppenheimer, Oreskes, Jamieson et al - Discerning Experts: The Practices of Scientific Assessment for Environmental Policy

https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo33765378.html

 




Elizabeth De Santo

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Jul 27, 2021, 11:00:45 AM7/27/21
to Papadakis, Maria C - papadamc, Allison M. Chatrchyan, dale.j...@nyu.edu, Kate O'NEILL, Prof. G. Bothun, 'GEP-Ed List, ESSf...@aessonline.org
Back on Google Docs for a minute and how to track participation: I really enjoy using it in my simulation, but I have to be somewhat strict about how they interact with the docs so that the exercise doesn't dissolve into chaos. I provide the text of an agreement we are negotiating in a Google Doc (in my case, the Nagoya Protocol of the Convention on Biological Diversity), and I instruct students not to use the "comments" feature in the margins, but to edit the text directly, using their own chosen color coding system (e.g., a color for the text and a color for highlighting - so their edits stand out) and they are instructed not to "delete" text, but to use strikethrough, so that everyone can see the edit). Then, at the bottom of the text being negotiated, I have a "comments" section, where each delegate has to identify and justify their edits (again using their chosen color scheme, so I can track who did what - if they don't explain their edits, they don't count). This makes it fairly straightforward to gauge their participation. Of course, when multiple delegates want to edit the same phrase, it can get confusing, so they often resort to presenting draft language in the comments section at the bottom. 

I create a separate Google Doc for each article we negotiate, which also gives them the chance to focus on the one(s) that are most relevant to their delegate/position. Right now, I teach about 20 students and I use four articles. When I taught a similar simulation with 100 students, I used more articles and students were grouped in tutorials with TAs, so it was manageable on the instructor's end.

That's the autonomous online component, we also meet "in person" (whatever that will be this year) to debate/discuss and vote on the language - the different aspects (online, in person) facilitate different students' participation as well. I have a couple of pedagogical publications on this simulation from when it was the larger model that I'm happy to share, if anyone wants to see them, or if you want to know more about how I approach it with a smaller group, feel free to contact me using my work email: edes...@fandm.edu

E.
--
Elizabeth M. De Santo, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies
Franklin & Marshall College
Department of Earth and Environment


On Tue, Jul 27, 2021 at 10:27 AM Papadakis, Maria C - papadamc <papa...@jmu.edu> wrote:
Good morning, everyone. I respectfully disagree that "we have many of the technologies needed to mitigate climate change – it's not a problem of engineering or physics."

Yes, this is true if we are talking about the next 10-15 years and making aggressive headway on an energy transition. But not so much if we are talking about limiting to 1.5C, being at net zero in 2050, and meeting the growing energy needs of the low income economies of the world.

As a person who works professionally with the engineers and physicists who wrestle with this question, and as a person who deals specifically with electric power infrastructure, I really don't see it. Although folks are often critical of the International Energy Agency, their roadmap to net zero is sobering as to scope of both technical and policy challenges that lay ahead. A lot of R&D will be required as well as radical departures in policymaking.


Best, Maria


***************************

Maria Papadakis, PhD, CEM

Professor of Integrated Science and Technology

Affiliate Professor, Institute of Earth Systems, University of Malta

MSC 4102

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Phone: 540-568-8142

papa...@jmu.edu

 


From: Allison M. Chatrchyan <amc...@cornell.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2021 9:51 AM
To: dale.j...@nyu.edu <dale.j...@nyu.edu>; Kate O'NEILL <kmon...@berkeley.edu>; Prof. G. Bothun <big...@gmail.com>
Cc: 'GEP-Ed List <gep...@googlegroups.com>; ESSf...@aessonline.org <ESSf...@aessonline.org>

Subject: Re: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?
 
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Dale - thank you for the reminder on your book 😊

 

Kate – I was also planning to include a mini climate negotiations simulation in the climate change science and policy course I co-teach this fall– we have had students research a county NDC and present it for the class, so we are thinking of having them represent that country in a negotiation and have the students group into the UNFCCC negotiations groupings. I will try it and let you know. My concern is that we will only skim the surface and not really get any real sense of what the negotiations are like…so maybe calling this a climate politics exercise makes more sense. I also participated in a small UC Davis trial of the  "Climate Interactive", specifically the EN-Roads Model this spring. More details are available here: https://www.climateinteractive.org/tools/en-roads/the-en-roads-climate-workshop/. It was problematic, but Im not sure if there are any other negotiations simulations??? It would be great if you would share your experiences.

 

Greg – Giving up on a focus on mitigation will make adaptation much harder, if not impossible.. (https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/. A.3.3. Adaptation and mitigation are already occurring (high confidence). Future climate-related risks would be reduced by the upscaling and acceleration of far-reaching, multilevel and cross-sectoral climate mitigation and by both incremental and transformational adaptation (high confidence}). Also, we have many of the technologies needed to mitigate climate change – its not a problem of engineering or physics – it’s a problem of politics and power, putting policies in place, psychology and behavior change. We need to teach students about climate change mitigation AND adaptation, and technological and social changes that are needed to address the problem. If you continue to teach the physics of climate change, many of us can continue to teach about the politics and policies that are needed to address climate change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kind Regards, Allison

 

Allison Morrill Chatrchyan, Ph.D.,  Senior Research Associate

Dept. of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences

Environment & Sustainability Program

Cornell Climate StewardsCornell Climate Smart Farming Program

Cornell University | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

103 Rice Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853

Email: amc...@cornell.edu | Office: 607.254.8808

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. - Howard Thurman

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harr...@sd-institute.org

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Jul 27, 2021, 11:53:54 AM7/27/21
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Wil et al:

 

Three decades of international negotiations have not produced an effective international agreement to prevent ‘dangerous’ climate change which is almost upon us. But that is no reason not to teach the importance of mitigation. Certainly, adaptation is the order of the day but that is a national and local affair, as needs and capabilities vary. A global exchange of best practices may help but local conditions (both physical and ideational) and capabilities will rule adaptation. But even adaptation is insufficient. What is really needed is communal resilience; the ability to continue to flourish under changing conditions. At every scale this is a social and political challenge – to construct the necessary institutions - than a technocratic problem of reservoirs or sea walls, or of wildfire containment. The climate has changed and will continue to change, how will humanity continue to flourish as conditions change, probably unpredictably?

 

Mitigation is still necessary if you would you prefer 2oC to 3oC or 4oC. In the forthcoming book Governing Complexity in the 21st Century from Routledge, Robert Geyer and I argue that even mitigation, while a global challenge, is best met with national and local responses. It is at the lower scales that the issue can best be negotiated among interested parties and effective responses fashioned. These will likely be both adaptive and mitigative (though they may be limited to ‘no regrets’). National policy will then emerge from the accumulated lower scale choices. And national policy is still critical to entice corporations (especially those that are large and multi-national) to sufficiently mitigate their GHG emissions, as John Mikler and I showed in Climate Innovation; Liberal Capitalism and Climate Change. So, government must act. And they will if enough lower scale organizations (counties cities, states, etc.) push for mitigation alongside adaptation. In most European countries and in the UK, climate change is well accepted by the populace and local and national policies already aim for relatively fast mitigation of emissions (though still insufficient to avoid dangerous climate change) and adaptation. Even so-called ‘democracy’ in these fractured United States may eventually respond.

 

In the distant past I taught the politics of international climate negotiations with simulations. If today I were teaching climate change or sustainability, I would emphasize acting locally (down to the personal level) on a global problem. I would show that international negotiations may raise the salience of the issue but will not solve the problem. Ultimately the question is what can each of us individually and collectively do today to mitigate our emissions and contribute to community resilience. I think that is where the future will be written rather than by hot air in international negotiations.

 

Cheers,

 

Neil E. Harrison, Ph.D.
Executive Director
The Sustainable Development Institute (www.sd-institute.org)

Recent and Upcoming Publications

Co-Author (with Robert Geyer), Governing Complexity in the 21st Century. (Manuscript in preparation for Routledge). https://www.routledge.com/Governing-Complexity-in-the-21st-Century/Harrison-Geyer/p/book/9780367276270.

Co-Author (with John Mikler), Capitalism for All: Realizing its Liberal Promise (Forthcoming at SUNY Press). https://www.sunypress.edu/p-7234-capitalism-for-all.aspx.

Author, Sustainable Capitalism and the Pursuit of Well-Being (Routledge 2014) - more information at www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415662819

Co-Editor (with John Mikler), Climate Innovation: Liberal Capitalism and Climate Change (Palgrave Macmillan 2014) - more information at http://us.macmillan.com/climateinnovation/NeilEHarrison.

Editor, Complexity in World Politics: Concepts and Methods of a New Paradigm (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2006). https://www.sunypress.edu/p-4294-complexity-in-world-politics.aspx.

Save money and support The Sustainable Development Institute at Amazon Smile.

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HARRIS, Paul [SSC]

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Jul 27, 2021, 8:12:31 PM7/27/21
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Dear All,

I think it's worth reiterating what Neil says (my emphasis added): "Three decades of international negotiations have not produced an effective international agreement to prevent ‘dangerous’ climate change which is almost upon us." Of course we want students to be hopeful about possibilities, but to be honest to them we need to start with Neil's description of things. The question they will then want an answer to is this: Why? (That is, is what Neil says true?) Why has so much human effort failed to prevent dangerous climate change (already, not to mention in the future)? Why have decades of diplomacy and policymaking given us a world in which the pollution causing climate change is still increasing globally. Why does more than 80% of our energy globally still come from fossil fuels, and why are governments around the world still subsidizing those fuels? What explains all of this? The answers are many, but they can arguably be boiled down to some major attributes of international relations, national politics and human nature. This is what I try to explain in my latest book, Pathologies of Climate Governance. The title is intentional: there are "pathologies" that we need to be clear about, both to explain what's going on (I think that's a lot of what students want to know -- why have we adults screwed up the world so much?!) and to identify pathways to reversing current trends and then moving in the opposite direction as quickly as technology and ingenuity allow. In answering these and related questions, students will not only learn about global and international aspects of the climate crisis; they will also (if we do a good job of teaching) be compelled to look in the mirror and ask themselves what a good life -- one that doesn't cost the earth -- can and should look like for them.

Just my two cents' worth...

All the best,

Paul

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Peter Newell

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Jul 28, 2021, 3:32:39 AM7/28/21
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Dear All

 

Further to this discussion, this collective piece in Annual Review of Environment and Natural Resources on ‘Three decades of climate mitigation: Why haven’t we bent the emissions curve?’ might be of interest for teaching.itigon: Why Haven't We Bent the Global Emissions Curve?

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-environ-012220-011104

 

Abstract

 

Despite three decades of political efforts and a wealth of research on the causes and catastrophic impacts of climate change, global carbon dioxide emissions have continued to rise and are 60% higher today than they were in 1990. Exploring this rise through nine thematic lenses—covering issues of climate governance, the fossil fuel industry, geopolitics, economics, mitigation modeling, energy systems, inequity, lifestyles, and social imaginaries—draws out multifaceted reasons for our collective failure to bend the global emissions curve. However, a common thread that emerges across the reviewed literature is the central role of power, manifest in many forms, from a dogmatic political-economic hegemony and influential vested interests to narrow techno-economic mindsets and ideologies of control. Synthesizing the various impediments to mitigation reveals how delivering on the commitments enshrined in the Paris Agreement now requires an urgent and unprecedented transformation away from today's carbon- and energy-intensive development paradigm.

 

Best wishes

 

Peter

 

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Todd Eisenstadt

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Jul 28, 2021, 9:58:44 AM7/28/21
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Dear colleagues,

 

I am reasonably new to this list so forgive me for “barging in.” But I hope that does not stop you from looking at my textbook with natural scientist Steven MacAvoy, which takes a critical view of the last three decades of international negotiations and addresses climate by considering the economic, political, geopolitical and technical limitations to mitigation, and also offers some hope to students – but only with discipline and an incremental combination of partial solutions.  We wrote the book for undergraduates, and it has a half dozen role-playing case studies (about 6,000 words each and seeking to have students take positions on both sides of the climate debate) and a simulation of UN negotiations on “loss and damages” (somewhat hypothetical, unfortunately, but plausible).  The book is reasonably priced, an ebook version is coming out soon, and my co-author and I wrote it precisely to address the issues being raised on this wonderful forum.  My own research has been on adaptation in the Global South, and we also bring that perspective in.

 

Here is the link: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/climate-change-science-and-the-politics-of-shared-sacrifice-9780190063696?cc=us&lang=en&

 

Have a look . . .

 

Regards,

 

Todd Eisenstadt, Professor of Government and Research Director, Center for Environmental Policy (CEP)

https://www.american.edu/spa/faculty/eisensta.cfm

 

From: gep...@googlegroups.com <gep...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Peter Newell
Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2021 3:32 AM
To: pha...@eduhk.hk; harr...@sd-institute.org
Cc: ''GEP-Ed List' <gep...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: [gep-ed] RE: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?

 

External Email: Use caution with links and attachments.

Kate O'NEILL

unread,
Jul 31, 2021, 4:31:01 PM7/31/21
to Jill Richardson, 'GEP-Ed List, ESSf...@aessonline.org
Dear all,

Thank you for your great advice and suggestions. I’m still working through the e-mail thread (I had to wait till I had a couple of hours free!), but as always I appreciate the exchanges of views, and I’ve added substantially to next semester’s reading list!). 

I should add I’ve taught live climate negotiations  simulations around 10 times, but not for a few years (the class grew to 200 which overwhelmed my already limited executive functioning capacity): I scaffold with exercises on countries’ politics and climate vulnerability, give them a draft resolution to work on their national positions, allies and opponents, and what they would give up/where they draw the line, if we have time (15 week semester) we orchestrate a Wikileaks event. Right now (6 week version, 40 students) they are prepping and recording opening statements! It’s fairly broad-brush - this is often my students’ first exposure to global governance/international politics at all - so we adjust expectations, and give them perhaps out of left-field Articles that they can get to grips with (my groups this summer have done a wonderful job on a proposed global coal production moratorium; I know that sounds way too unrealistic to many here but it really works in fulfilling my pedagogical goals. It sneaks in concepts like CBDR and the Precautionary Principle).  They work in 4-8 parallel tracks then we compare the outcomes from the different groups and award sunflowers and fossils. 

Here are some ideas from you all in one place:
1. The En Roads Climate Interactive site form MIT is indeed very helpful for scenario mapping
2. Getting creative with google docs (I’ll have groups of 8 or 9 in parallel tracks so it should be doable)
3. Figuring out limits to discussion when we don’t have the 70 minute limit my classes impose
4. Ideas for hallway conversations and side negotiations - using techniques my TA and I can monitor, as it’a all part of the final grade. 

I’m working on writing the whole thing up for a different project, I’m sure that will be circulated when complete! In the meantime, here’s an article from Berkeley News on what we did in 2013. 

All the very best,

Kate 

***************************************
Kate O'Neill
Professor
Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management,
Associate Dean, Office of Instructional and Student Affairs at the Rausser College of Natural Resources
University of California at Berkeley
Unceded Chochenyo Ohlone Lands 

@kmoneill2530
Website
WASTE (Polity Press, 2019)



On Jul 26, 2021, at 11:20 PM, Jill Richardson <jerich...@wisc.edu> wrote:

Returning to the original question about how to engage students in an online, asynchronous environment, I have had the most luck when I give very specific instructions either about the outcome (e.g. list 3 priorities for your country with a justification for each) or the engagement I want to see (e.g. an initial post + 2 replies to peers). You could also ask them to answer various discussion questions that could guide them to understand the country's position on climate change as a preliminary exercise. Part of this could be asking the students whether they think the country would be more concerned with preventing climate change or adapting to it. 

In an online synchronous class, when I've asked discussion questions, it has helped when I name the page numbers where the answers can be found or provided links to sources where students could find answers. 

In terms of apps, Slack or Discord are both options I've seen attempted (Slack seems better... I've never seen anyone's attempt to use Discord get off the ground), although it's easier to grade a discussion in an LMS than in an external app and using your LMS doesn't require students to download a new app, learn how to use it, or remember to check it. On the other hand, I've heard a colleague say that students like Slack because they can use it on their phones (and you can also use it on a computer). If you aren't grading individual students' participation, it seems like GoogleDocs are easiest as a shared, asynchronous workspace, although they don't allow for much conversation aside from inserting and responding to comments. The other downside is that you'll see a final product in GoogleDocs but you won't know which student wrote what. 

Best of luck!

Jill

--
Jill Richardson
PhD candidate, Community & Environmental Sociology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Pronouns: She/hers
https://jillrichardson.webnode.com/


From: big...@gmail.com <big...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2021 10:31 PM
To: Wil Burns <w...@feronia.org>
Cc: Allison M. Chatrchyan <amc...@cornell.edu>; Kate O'NEILL <kmon...@berkeley.edu>; 'GEP-Ed List <gep...@googlegroups.com>; essf...@aessonline.org <essf...@aessonline.org>

Subject: Re: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?
 
yes I think adaptation is different than mitigation and focus should more be on adaptation (again
my opinion only and I could be full of it ...)

and that we blew the mitigation window (for me as of 1990)

On Mon, Jul 26, 2021 at 6:07 PM Wil Burns <w...@feronia.org> wrote:
Here’s a direct quote: “Personally, I have long believed that climate change, in the form of severe regional weather,
has been upon us for the last ten years so I find it counterproductive to have students deal
with "politics and policy to prevent climate change".  
 
That strongly implies that one shouldn’t spend time on mitigation issues.
 
wil
 
 
 
 
WIL BURNS
Co-Director & Professor of Practice
Institute for Carbon Removal Law & Policy
American University
 
Mobile: 312.550.3079
 
917 Forest Ave., #3S, Evanston, IL 60202
 
 
Want to schedule a call? Click on one of the following scheduling links: 

 
Follow us:
 
<image004.png>
 
 
From: Allison M. Chatrchyan <amc...@cornell.edu> 
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2021 7:55 PM
To: Wil Burns <w...@feronia.org>
Cc: Prof. G. Bothun <big...@gmail.com>; Kate O'NEILL <kmon...@berkeley.edu>; 'GEP-Ed List <gep...@googlegroups.com>; essf...@aessonline.org
Subject: Re: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?
 

You might want to keep the snarky tone out of the email responses. We’re all aware of how drastic climate change is and how insufficient the response is. We’re all trying to work on this issue and teach students to take it seriously, and force governments to act. I don’t think he said he teaches with a “singular focus on adaptation.” 

Kind Regards, Allison


On Jul 26, 2021, at 5:49 PM, Wil Burns <w...@feronia.org> wrote:

 
I believe it’s a fundamental mistake to teach climate change in this fashion. Professor Bothun is assuredly correct that climate change manifestations are upon us, and substantially more is “baked in” given the fact that models indicate that temperatures would rise an additional 0.8C even if we all crawled into caves today. Having said that, however, the policies and measures that we take to decarbonize the global economy, and our time schedule for doing so, will have a profound impact on whether we ultimately hold temperatures to 2-3C above pre-industrial levels, or end up in the RCP8.5 worst case scenario territory, with temperatures rising 4-5C. So, the focus here is not on “preventing climate change,” but rather “preventing the worst possible manifestations of climate change.” 

Also, a singular focus on climate adaptation is likely to lead some students to believe that we can “live” with large amounts of climate change, which is much more the case for well-resourced nations such as the United States than most developing countries. For many countries in the South, full-throated mitigation policies by major emitters are critical, and I think it’s important in simulations to have students explore these options, and the equitable arguments for compelling more aggressive mitigation measures by the top 10 emitters.
 
wil
 
 
 
<image005.jpg>
 
 
 

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The Environmental Studies and Sciences (ESS) Forum is a service of the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (https://aessonline.org/). The purpose of the Forum is to share information, facilitate respectful and inclusive dialogue, and build community amongst professionals and students engaged with environmental studies and sciences. For list Guidelines and information on subscription management, head here (https://aessonline.org/ESS-forum)
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-- 

Greg Bothun
Professor of Physics,
University of Oregon



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The Environmental Studies and Sciences (ESS) Forum is a service of the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (https://aessonline.org/). The purpose of the Forum is to share information, facilitate respectful and inclusive dialogue, and build community amongst professionals and students engaged with environmental studies and sciences. For list Guidelines and information on subscription management, head here (https://aessonline.org/ESS-forum)
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