This is a contribution by Andrew A. Couperus, a Visiting Assistant Professor of Astronomy at Smith College.

I have begun using the World Climate Simulation (WCS) activity during a climate change unit in my undergraduate intro astronomy courses, simulating an international climate summit in roleplay. For a class of ~50, I split students into groups of ~4-6, assigning each group one of the roles the activity uses (specific countries, regions, journalists, fossil fuel lobbyists, etc.). Students use the briefings for each role provided by WCS, make preliminary commitments for their country or region’s emission reduction goals, and come to class prepared to negotiate. During this lively session we use the C-ROADS simulator to model what their commitments would actually do to influence global warming, and they must negotiate iteratively (while preserving their country / regional interests) in order to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. It is a very energetic class activity, with spokespersons delivering speeches, delegates racing around to negotiate, climate activists trying to make their voices heard, lobbyists making bribes with candy, journalists calling short press conferences, and some regions “drowning” part way through if they don’t meet the climate goals soon enough! 

This activity gives students an engaging way to learn about climate negotiations, the challenges and solutions to climate change, the international cooperation needed, the possible roles they themselves could play in addressing climate change, and the countless regional factors involved as well. The focus and intent for this activity are the overall process in general, not finer details of economic or policy specifics, making it suitable for a wide range of audiences. It has proven to be quite memorable for my students, and, anecdotally, seems to help cultivate their sense of self-agency in addressing the climate crisis. A tremendous compendium of instructions, resources, slides, roleplay briefings, robust simulators, and more are all readily available to use from the WCS webpage. 

The World Climate Simulation is produced and maintained by Climate Interactive, the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative, and the UMass Lowell Climate Change Initiative, and is available at their webpage here: https://www.climateinteractive.org/world-climate-simulation/ 

You can reach Andrew A. Couperus via: acouperus@smith.edu