Andrew Jones, Beth Sawin, and Phil Rice are leading SI's work in using interactive simulations to spark effective action on climate change. The core method is applying scientifically-grounded system dynamics models, widely-accessible simulations (or “Sims”), and “open source sharing” often within multi-stakeholder conversations.

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http://climateinteractive.wordpress.com/

Key partners include:

 

The Pangaea Simulator

Pangaea is a user-friendly international climate simulator for decision-makers, built with Ventana Systems and MIT. We use it in climate negotiations, strategy sessions, and policy exercises.

 

The Copenhagen Climate Exercise

“The Copenhagen Climate Game” is a half day simulation-based role-playing climate game designed by SI’s Drew Jones and MIT’s John Sterman that gives groups from 10-50 an experience of reaching a global agreement to mitigate climate change. Set up as a highly simplified “Copenhagen-2009-like” U.N. negotiation, participants play the role of delegates from India, China, the US, the EU, Brazil, island nations, and others and work together to reach a global accord that meets the group’s goal for CO2 levels.

Climate Interactive – Open Source Sharing

We have pulled together a diverse team of partners to spark “viral” diffusion of accessible climate change simulations via open source sharing.  The charter of Climate Interactive is:

To enable and support a community that creates, shares, and uses credible simulations and media to improve understanding of climate dynamics and accelerate action towards climate stabilization.

 

The Bathtub Climate Sim

 One example of this effort is an animated simulation of the global carbon system created with Schlumberger.  Its purpose is to help learners explore the relationship between emissions and atmospheric CO2. 

 

Electrical Utility Strategy Sim on Carbon Management

Working with Donella Meadows Fellow Lena Hansen, her team at Rocky Mountain Institute, and Free Range Studios, Drew Jones and Lori Siegel of SI are developing a system dynamics model that explores the strategic options available to an electrical utility as it works to reduce its contribution to global climate change amidst uncertainties such as possible regulations. What actions make sense when? Demand-side management of energy? Wind farms? Retrofitting existing coal plants? Shutting them down? The model is designed to support an effective strategic conversation about what makes sense for the utility and for the world.

  • "Systems Thinking for Sustainability: A Decision-Support Approach for Electrical Utility Executives Addressing Climate Change" (416KB pdf), by Andrew Jones

 

How You Can Help

We are currently engaging partners for these efforts. We see three types of partners (or combinations of types):

  • Sponsors - Funding various efforts
  • Partners - Co-designing the sims and their applications
  • Adopters - Identifying a target group and helping deliver the sims to that group.

To participate, email Drew Jones, apjones [at] sustainer.org

 

Resources

  • Our Climate Ourselves - a program at SI oriented towards helping people cope with the difficult emotions that climate change (and climate change simulations) call forth and trying to find ways to tap into those emotions as a force for change.
  • "We Can't Afford to Wait and See on Climate Change" (67KB pdf) by Drew Jones and Don Seville
  • Supporting Effective Participation in the Climate Change Debate: The Role of System Dynamics Simulation Modeling (62KB pdf) by Drew Jones and Don Seville
  • Research by MIT's John Sterman and Harvard's Linda Booth Sweeney
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