[gep-ed] Re: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?

[Kate O'NEILL]

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 

kmone...@berkeley.edu
@kmoneill2530
Website 
WASTE  
(Polity Press, 2019)



> On Jul 26, 2021, at 11:20 PM, Jill Richardson  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   >
> 

RE: [gep-ed] RE: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?

[harrison]

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 
<http://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 
<http://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. 

 

 

 

From: gep-ed@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Wil Burns
Sent: 07/26/2021 7:08 PM
To: Allison M. Chatrchyan 
Cc: Prof. G. Bothun ; Kate O'NEILL ; 
'GEP-Ed List ; essfo...@aessonline.org
Subject: [gep-ed] RE: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?

 

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

 

 


 

 

   <http://twitter.com/> 

WIL BURNS

Co-Director & Professor of Practice

Institute for Carbon Removal Law & Policy

American Unive

[gep-ed] Re: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?

[Elizabeth De Santo]

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:
edesa...@fandm.edu

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

Latest publications on the politics of large-scale MPAs in Brazil
, the
ongoing treaty negotiations for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction
(BBNJ) ,
and the geopolitics of MPAs in overseas territories
.

On Tue, Jul 27, 2021 at 10:27 AM Papadakis, Maria C - papadamc <
papad...@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 will be required as well as radical departures in
> policymaking.
>
> Here's the link: https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050
>
> 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
>
> papad...@jmu.edu
>
>
> --
> *From:* Allison M. Chatrchyan 
> *Sent:* Tuesday, July 27, 2021 9:51 AM
> *To:* dale.jamie...@nyu.edu ; Kate O'NEILL <
> kmone...@berkeley.edu>; Prof. G. Bothun 
> *Cc:* 'GEP-Ed List ; essfo...@aessonline.org <
> essfo...@aessonline.org>
> *Subject:* Re: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?
>
> *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click links
> or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is
> safe.
> --
>
> 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 

[gep-ed] Re: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?

[Dale W Jamieson]

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
https://www.amazon.com/Reason-Dark-Time-Struggle-Against/dp/0199337667
**
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






On Mon, Jul 26, 2021 at 9:07 PM Wil Burns  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
>
>
>
> Email: wbu...@american.edu
>
> Mobile: 312.550.3079
>
>
>
> 917 Forest Ave., #3S, Evanston, IL 60202
>
>
>
> https://www.american.edu/sis/centers/carbon-removal/
> 
>
>
>
>
>
> *Want to schedule a call? Click on one of the following scheduling links: *
>
>-  60-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/phone-call
>
> 
>- 30-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/30min
>
> 
>- 15-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/15min
>
> 
>- 60-minute conference call:
>https://calendly.com/wil_burns/60-minute-conference-call
>
> 
>- 30-minute conference call:
>https://calendly.com/wil_burns/30-minute-group
>
> 
>- 60-minute Zoom call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/60min
>
> 
>- 30-minute Zoom call:
>

[gep-ed] RE: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?

[Wil Burns]

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




  [cid:image001.jpg@01D78259.DB5A08D0] 
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

https://www.american.edu/sis/centers/carbon-removal/

Want to schedule a call? Click on one of the following scheduling links:


  *60-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/phone-call
  *   30-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/30min
  *   15-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/15min
  *   60-minute conference call: 
https://calendly.com/wil_burns/60-minute-conference-call
  *   30-minute conference call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/30-minute-group
  *   60-minute Zoom call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/60min
  *   30-minute Zoom call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/30-minute-zoom-call

Follow us:
[cid:image002.png@01D78259.DB5A08D0]
[cid:image003.png@01D78259.DB5A08D0]




From: Allison M. Chatrchyan 
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2021 7:55 PM
To: Wil Burns 
Cc: Prof. G. Bothun ; Kate O'NEILL ; 
'GEP-Ed List ; essfo...@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 
mailto: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







WIL BURNS
Visiting Professor
Environmental Policy & Culture Program
Northwestern University

Email: william.bu...@northwestern.edu
Mobile: 312.550.3079

1810/1812 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, IL 60208
https://epc.northwestern.edu/people/staff-new/wil-burns.html

Want to schedule a call? Click on one of the following scheduling links:



  *60-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/phone-call
  *   30-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/30min
  *   15-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/15min
  *   60-minute conference call: 
https://calendly.com/wil_burns/60-minute-conference-call
  *   30-minute conference call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/30-minute-group
  *   60-minute Zoom call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/60min
  *   30-minute Zoom call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/30-minute-zoom-call

I acknowledge and honor the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa, as well as the 
Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations, upon whose traditional homelands 
Northwestern University stands, and the Indigenous people who remain on this 
land today.




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

I have done similar exercises but have had the most 

[gep-ed] RE: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?

[Wil Burns]

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




  [cid:image001.jpg@01D7823F.E0DEFE60] 
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

https://www.american.edu/sis/centers/carbon-removal/

Want to schedule a call? Click on one of the following scheduling links:


  *60-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/phone-call
  *   30-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/30min
  *   15-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/15min
  *   60-minute conference call: 
https://calendly.com/wil_burns/60-minute-conference-call
  *   30-minute conference call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/30-minute-group
  *   60-minute Zoom call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/60min
  *   30-minute Zoom call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/30-minute-zoom-call

Follow us:
[cid:image002.png@01D7823F.E0DEFE60]
[cid:image003.png@01D7823F.E0DEFE60]




From: Prof. G. Bothun 
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2021 4:56 PM
To: Wil Burns 
Cc: Kate O'NEILL ; 'GEP-Ed List 
; essfo...@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.

On Mon, Jul 26, 2021 at 2:49 PM Wil Burns 
mailto: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



[cid:image005.jpg@01D7823F.E0DEFE60]



WIL BURNS
Visiting Professor
Environmental Policy & Culture Program
Northwestern University

Email: william.bu...@northwestern.edu
Mobile: 312.550.3079

1810/1812 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, IL 60208
https://epc.northwestern.edu/people/staff-new/wil-burns.html

Want to schedule a call? Click on one of the following scheduling links:

  *60-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/phone-call
  *   30-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/30min
  *   15-minute phone call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/15min
  *   60-minute conference call: 
https://calendly.com/wil_burns/60-minute-conference-call
  *   30-minute conference call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/30-minute-group
  *   60-minute Zoom call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/60min
  *   30-minute Zoom call: https://calendly.com/wil_burns/30-minute-zoom-call

I acknowledge and honor the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa, as well as the 
Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations, upon whose traditional homelands 
Northwestern University stands, and the Indigenous people who remain on this 
land today.




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

[gep-ed] RE: [ESS Forum] Asynchronous, on-line negotiations exercises?

[Wil Burns]

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



[cid:image005.jpg@01D7823E.02DD74D0]



WIL BURNS
Visiting Professor
Environmental Policy & Culture Program
Northwestern University

Email: william.bu...@northwestern.edu
Mobile: 312.550.3079

1810/1812 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, IL 60208
https://epc.northwestern.edu/people/staff-new/wil-burns.html

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I acknowledge and honor the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa, as well as the 
Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations, upon whose traditional homelands 
Northwestern University stands, and the Indigenous people who remain on this 
land today.




From: Prof. G. Bothun 
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2021 4:02 PM
To: Kate O'NEILL 
Cc: 'GEP-Ed List ; essfo...@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).

On Mon, Jul 26, 2021 at 1:47 PM Kate O'NEILL 
mailto:kmone...@berkeley.edu>> wrote:
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