Young people need to understand that we are well and truly passed the point of switching off lights. It’s too late. The only way now for us to mitigate climate change is for countries and their governments to make radical pledges and changes. This new resource is both necessary and timely.
Developed by the Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) in partnership with the theatre company Rimini Protokoll, it is designed to allow pupils to take part in mock climate change negotiations, something which has previously only been available to a handful of students at high profile events. The resulting resource has won awards from the Geographical Association and the Scottish Association of Geography Teachers.
The main body of the activity allows pupils to explore the science and expected impacts of climate change, how we might adapt or mitigate them, and how countries might both negotiate emissions reductions and agree to fund mitigation and adaptation in LICs. The resources make it possible for all teachers, whatever their level of expertise, to run climate negotiations events with their students, without the need for extensive preparation.
In a series of lessons, pupils take on the role of leaders of different countries involved in a climate change mitigation conference. They research their countries and discuss what they can do to reduce the carbon emissions in their country. Then the negotiations begin. By pairing up with other countries, pupils then negotiate about each of their targets. Results are fed into a spreadsheet which shows pupils how their pledges reduce future carbon emissions. If targets are not being reached it’s back to the negotiation table!
Pupils really enjoyed taking on the role of leaders of their countries, with flags on the desks, and researching their own countries potential to help reach the targets. They showed real engagement in the negotiation process and showed real passion in driving change.
The impact of the work has highlighted pupils improved their numeracy skills by handling geographical data and drawing informed conclusions from numerical data. They also boosted their investigative research and analytical skills which helped them to develop their arguments and thinking.
The activity is intended for students aged 14-18 but has been used with younger and older students as a BGE topic or to reinforce an aspect of the senior phase course. Ideally, they should have recently completed a topic on climate change.
