This question was examined by the class of 2018 of the Business Administration Online / Business Administration Online study program. As part of the course Language, Culture and Ethics in Business, students discussed economic answers to various sustainability issues.
62 students of the German track and 30 students of the English track took part in the simulation of a UN climate conference on an on-campus session of the blended learning study program. They slipped into the role of negotiators and negotiated intensively towards the genuine goal of limiting global warming to a maximum of 2°C by 2100.
The Climate Interactive think tank in cooperation with the MIT Sloan School of Management and the UMass Lowell Climate Change Initiative developed the complex simulation game. Around 62,000 participants in 93 countries have participated so far. The accompanying, award-winning simulation software CROADS supported the students in their decisions and helped them to understand the long-term climate effects of their negotiated measures and strategies.
Divided into 6 blocks (China, European Union, India, other developed nations, other developing nations and the USA) and 3 other interest groups (climate activists, lobbyists for fossil fuels and the international press), students attempted to achieve the goal in two rounds of negotiations.
In addition to valuable insights into the carbon and climate system or into social and international geopolitical dynamics, the students demonstrated their communicative skills, above all their negotiating skills.
Climate Game Simulation. Photo: MCI
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