International Negotiations and State Interests: A Green Climate Fund Simulation

Abstract

The simulation that we present here was designed to introduce students not only to climate change policy making but also to the Green Climate Fund and the process of negotiation. Rather than concentrating on either the political debate about climate change or doom and gloom scenarios, the focus of this simulation is on taking action and collaborative decision making. The simulation can be run in two class periods and introduces students to the concepts of negotiation, decision making, critical thinking, and rule development.

Keywords:

• Active learning
• climate change
• negotiation
• role playing
• simulations

Notes

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers on this article who have truly raised the bar on what it means to be not only intellectually challenging and thorough but also truly collegial and professional.

Notes

1 How are UN Climate Talks like a Middle School? Cliques Rule: http://www.npr.org/2015/08/31/434599379/how-are-u-n-climate-talks-like-a-middle-school-cliques-rule. August 31, 2015.

2 Three countries had just one student due to enrollment of just 17 students.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shannon K. Orr

Shannon K. Orr, PhD, is Professor of Political Science at Bowling Green State University and is the author of Environmental Policymaking and Stakeholder Collaboration and coeditor of Academic Reflections: Identities, Triumphs and Struggles in Graduate School and Beyond. You can contact Shannon via twitter: @CapacityBldg4SD

Caitlin Buhr

Caitlin Buhr received a BA in Environmental Studies from Lawrence University in Wisconsin and an MPA from Bowling Green State University. She lives in Seattle where she manages programming for a youth center that opened last year.