World Climate Simulation

Ellie Johnson, from Climate Interactive (USA) giving an opening presentation during World Climate Simulation event hosted at National Climate Change Resource Center (NCCRC).


World Climate is an interactive, role playing UN climate negotiation game that uses computer simulation to rapidly analyze the result of mock negotiations. World climate simulation was developed by Climate Interactive and

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to help people build awareness on the critical climate change challenge and experience some of the dynamics that emerge in the UN climate negotiations. 

The LECRD project in partnership with Climate Interactive hosted a world climate simulation event at the National Climate Change Resource Centre (NCCRC) on 24^th May 2016 bringing together 36 participants drawn from the media, youth representatives, Climate Change Directorate, Kenya Meteorological Department and LECRD project staff.. 

The objective of the event was to have participants appreciate differences in resources that countries have and their contribution to the global climate fund. Understanding this could discover how such decisions impact on the global climate system in real time and set the agenda for countries commitment towards reducing global temperature rise and emissions reduction.

The session was highly interactive and thought provoking with delegates representing various blocs of countries namely; Developed Nations, Developing Nations, China and India. This was done to mimic the real negotiations process.  and also because These nations hold valuable positions in reducing global climate temperatures to lower than 2 degrees Celsius.

The “delegates” actively participated and got a deeper understanding of the UNFCCC negotiations and the need for urgent global national and individual actions to address climate change and its impacts. The greatest lesson learnt was no country can act in isolation despite its position in the developing and developed world or the resources possessed. All countries must work together to reduce emissions and lower the global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius. This was demonstrated using the simulation tool where despite initial negotiations collective decision making did not reduce global temperatures to below 2 degrees. This elicited the need for a fresh round of negotiations and concessions which improved the scenario of the global temperatures.The need for collective responsibility to achieve this target cannot be understated. 

These negotiations can have direct bearing on Kenya’s climate policy direction like the; Nationally Determined Contributions, NDCs aiming to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030. This will move Kenya  on a low carbon and climate resilient development pathway and the Paris agreement which expects  all countries to undertake adaptation planning and action and communicate this to the global community though the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The Climate Interactive group also conducted a training session for participants at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies (KSMS). Future simulation events are planned at the NCCRC for various stakeholder groups. Further, the simulation tools will be embedded in a curriculum that is being developed to mainstream climate change in county policy planning and budgetary processes.

For more info visit: www.climateinteractive.org