Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Role-Play Exercise

K.M. Theissen, University of St. Thomas, Pedagogy in Action Collection from SERC

In this role-play activity, students take the roles of various important players in the climate change policy negotiation including politicians, scientists, environmentalists, and industry representatives. Working in these roles, students must take a position, debate with others, and then vote on legislation designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Can be used in a variety of courses including writing and rhetoric, and social sciences.

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Notes from our reviewers

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Activity should be done at the end of a unit on climate change, after students have learned some of the science behind the issue. See tips provided by the developer in the activity sheet. It might be interesting to collaborate with a politics/government studies class when doing this activity, with each group being a mixture of students from both classes. The convention can be made more realistic with a simple PowerPoint described in activity sheet. Link for Stern Report referred to in activity is: [http://www.ff.org/centers/csspp/pdf/20061104_stern.pdf]
Uses Copenhagen Diagnosis 2009 to engage students in role-play discussion of climate change. To stay up-to-date on the science, educators can use summaries from the most recent IPCC reports instead of the 2009 report in the activity. Comments from expert scientist: The activity's strength is that it does provide a real-world setting for understanding the complexity on climate change mitigation as a policy issue. It's a great choice for K-12 and early undergraduate courses. However, there's a mismatch between the activity and the goals. The IPPC report would be a better choice for the science than the Copenhagen Diagnosis and Stern Report. This is true for content and also for authority, which is especially relevant for this activity.
Students explore roles that may challenge their personal feelings or beliefs; helps bring into focus the complexity of global energy issues and politics. Educators are cautioned to steer away from denial-type debate about the existence of climate change. Strive for discussions that allow perspectives to be aired, while facts and evidence remain as the basis for decision-making. A rubric and teaching notes are included for the instructor.