In November 2021, around 45 senior phase pupils from 4 schools in the Highlands and Speyside took part in an online Mock COP organised in partnership by The Open University in Scotland, Developing the Young Workforce and Highland One World Centre.
COP 26
The event was designed to increase knowledge and awareness amongst the participants of COP26 and the issues and challenges involved in high-level climate negotiations, like those taking place in Glasgow at the same time.
For the pupils taking part, the Mock COP was a chance to show their outstanding knowledge of, commitment to, and passion for halting climate change to fantastic effect.
Taking place across the school day, the Mock COP included activities and presentations including a live session with Dr Leslie Mabon, lecturer in Environmental Systems with the OU, who joined the event from inside the COP26 venue in Glasgow, giving participants a real life insight into how a COP takes place.
Delegate groups
Participants were split into groups and took on the role of delegates, with each group representing a different country in negotiations. Each group of delegates had a facilitator from the OU in Scotland who helped them to identify their aims for the negotiations and to keep these in mind throughout the day.
Alongside negotiations, Ben Sparham from Highland One World led an activity asking groups to consider adaptation and mitigation measures for climate change and how applicable these might be for their country.
During the negotiations themselves, the delegates worked hard to make agreements with other countries to ensure favourable votes on seven resolutions at the end of the event.
"It was amazing how we all worked as a team and could also speak with other schools, laying out all the information we had found out. I found it so rewarding and interesting."
Voting
The final voting decisions on the resolutions showed that participants looked to be ambitious in their approach to climate change and meeting the aims of the Paris Agreement, however compromise was the ultimate outcome of negotiations.
For the pupils taking part, the Mock COP was a chance to show their outstanding knowledge of, commitment to, and passion for halting climate change to fantastic effect. One pupil wrote: “It was amazing how we all worked as a team and could also speak with other schools, laying out all the information we had found out. I found it so rewarding and interesting.”
