For the climate situation, the class tried to work together to bring projected warming down to 2 degrees. My group represented China, which is projected to be the largest source of carbon emissions. The main thing I noticed in the simulation was how difficult this goal is to achieve. Even with super drastic measures by everyone, we weren’t really able to get down to 2 degrees. I worry that since the super drastic measures we were taking wouldn’t be possible in the real world, we are pretty doomed on this account.
Working as China, I noticed was that the easiest way to negotiate was to agree to match everything the US did. That way, we weren’t at a disadvantage to them, but we could still help the environment. Another big topic of discussion was about money. Developing countries wanted a lot of money, so many people didn’t trust them. This led us to negotiate giving most of our funds to India, who we trusted more. As we saw little improvement, we changed to a more accelerated timeline.
In the end, I’m sad to admit I don’t think it’s possible to reduce to 2 degrees. I think the cooperation involved is currently impossible. The most important aspect is world cooperation, where currently we live in a global system that is not conducive to cooperation. This is especially true in the US, where many people do not even see climate change as an important issue. I think education is the most important way the US can move towards having a united front in climate change.