Good-COP or bad-COP? Students simulate climate negotiations
In December we hosted 66 students at Chatham House to try their hand at international climate negotiations. Here we bring you the highlights, including a video where you can hear first-hand from the students about what they took away from the day.
Students sat around a negotiation table as part of the COP simulation. Photo: Carmen Valino.
It was a cold December day when 66 students from universities around the country gathered at Chatham House. Many had been travelling since the early hours of the morning and the Welsh contingent had been waylaid by train disruptions caused by a storm the night before.
But as they sat around a table in the Joseph Gaggero Hall, they quickly forgot the outside world and embraced their roles as country representatives in a UNFCCC COP negotiation with vigour.
A student representing Brazil speaking into a microphone. Photo: Carmen Valino.
It was the British International Studies Association’s fourth annual climate simulation, but our first time hosting it as partners. As well hosting in a room where nations leaders have debated international issues of the day, we deployed some of our experts to act as COP-mentors to the students.
Ruth Townend kicked off the day with a keynote speech, detailing the tips and tricks she’s picked up through many years as a COP observer. Others from the department played the Secretariat, huddling with countries in the caucuses to guide their negotiation tactics. Then David Gunn closed with a keynote reflecting on the takeaways from the day’s discussions.
Students sat around the negotiation table listening to David's keynote. Photo: Carmen Valino.
Like many a real COP, negotiations did not always run smooth. Geopolitics became a major inhibitor, with the Russian delegation staying true to character (they later won the ‘embodying the role’ award) as they advocated for a joint Saudi-Chinese proposition to much opposition from the West.
However, unlike the COP, country blocks were more malleable, with seismic shifts resulting from new alliances and bilateral deals. We also saw some outstanding leadership emerge from countries such as Mexico.
Students negotiating in a caucus. Photo: Carmen Valino.
Even though the students were ultimately unable to reach sufficient consensus on an agreement, it taught them about the reality of climate diplomacy.
The day highlighted many of the dynamics at work in the current climate negotiation processes, particularly the difficulty of trying to raise ambition in an environment of severe geopolitical tensions, and the strengths and limitations of current multilateral processes. This question of how we evolve institutional frameworks is a live discussion within the Environment and Society Centre at the moment - so stay tuned for future explorations on this topic.
In the meantime, find out what the students took away from the day and their thoughts on the future of climate negotiations in this video:
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