OLLI CLASS: SCI-13 World Climate Negotiations
Fridays 3:45 – 5 pm. April 8, 15, 22, & 29 and May 6
There is much in the news about the impacts of global warming and its causes. But less information is available
on how world leaders are trying to solve the problem. This class will involve students in an exercise that
simulates the Paris Climate Talks held from Nov 30 through Dec 11, 2015. Students will play different countries
and we will use the same software used in the Paris Talks to determine how much difference the countries’
pledges will likely have on the climate. Will the pledges help keep the temperature rise within the goal of 2°C? If
not, the players go back to their “countries” and prepare more ambitious pledges to cut emissions and we use
the software once again to see if the new pledges are adequate to reach the goal. Students do not need to know
anything about either global warming or about the negotiations in advance. You will get enough information in
the class to enable you to play the game.
Instructor Susan Todd teaches courses in Natural Resource Conservation, Collaborative Resource Planning, and
Environmental Mediation. She is a professor at UAF in the School of Natural Resources and Extension.
AGENDA for Day 1
Take a climate quiz while we wait for everyone to arrive.
Introductions. What do you hope to get out of this course? What background do you have on global warming?
Why I’m interested in Climate Negotiations
I teach a freshman course in conservation, from forestry to agriculture and ecology to resource policy. I’ve
gone over global warming every year for 16 years. After that much time watching the situation become more
and more alarming, I started to see global warming as an existential issue.
With Paris coming up, I wanted to do something in my freshman class to get ready for the negotiations and to
prepare students to follow it closely. I found this simulation of the talks and everyone really enjoyed playing
it. All of us found it added so much to the news about Paris. If you can find a recording of the speeches from
many of the 196 delegations that were streamed online after the final agreement was announced, try to listen
to them. They were so inspiring.
Now Paris is over, but it’s time to start implementing it and the first major signing ceremony is the April 22 in
New York City—2 weeks from today!
I wanted to share the excitement my class found in simulating the negotiations. Why should freshmen have
all the fun?
My key hope in offering this class is that this will make the all-important negotiations on global
warming more interesting and understandable to all of us. This is NOT a course about climate science
(although we will definitely touch on that also).
A key point here is that science alone will not solve this. It is up to policy makers to institute changes.
The negotiations bring home just how powerless scientists alone are to change things. And since this is a
global problem, no one nation can solve it alone; we are going to have to work together.
I hope you will bring your own expertise, background, thoughts and questions to class for all of us to discuss.
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Tentative Class Schedule
Day 1, April 8
Introductions, Discuss the survey results, “What’s the fuss about?” and Intro to
the game. Choose the country or countries you want to represent & I’ll give you a
description of your role. For example, if you choose to play China, your instructions
will describe what is most important for you to get from the negotiations.
Day 2, April 15
Background on what led up to the Paris agreement, what the key issues were, how
they were settled and what happens next. What did you learn about your role?
Discuss your roles and strategies with your partner. Discuss any questions about the
game. If time, we can also discuss the Al Gore talk and the Climate Change Primer.
Day 3, April 22
First day of our negotiations, which is the same day that 130 countries will be
signing the “refined” Paris Agreement in NYC!!
Day 4, April 29
Finish our negotiations.
Day 5, MAY 6
Debriefing and discussion of actions we can take.
3 ASSIGNMENTS for Day 2, APRIL 15
1) Watch Al Gore’s TED talk: The case for optimism on global warming. This is an excellent summary of the
basics of global warming, and some of the amazing changes that have happened recently in clean
energy technologies, which are essential for mitigating these changes.
http://www.ted.com/talks/al_gore_the_case_for_optimism_on_climate_change.
2) Look on the course website for my primer on the basics of climate change. We might have some time in
class to discuss that and the Al Gore talk.
2) Do some research on your role in the upcoming game. Google information about what your country or
countries wanted most to get out of the climate talks in Paris last November. For example, Google “How
much money will INDIA (or other developing country) need to cope with global warming?” You might
NOT be able to find specific information about your country, but see what is available. Be ready to tell
the group what you found in a few minutes next time. Just spend an hour or so looking for information
about it and please bring a page listing any sources you found particularly useful.
GOOD COP, BAD COP: Background on the Paris “COP 21"
Paris was an ENORMOUS game changer. People had worked very hard for over 20 years, coped with many
setbacks and disappointments, and many didn’t live to see the agreement. It was so inspiring. I didn’t
think we would ever see the day when ALL the countries on Earth could agree on anything, let alone
climate change.
We’ll be talking about COPs, so it will be helpful to know some of that history. The following is from
Wikipedia, which actually does a very good job of summarizing this.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Global warming (UNFCCC) is an
international environmental treaty negotiated at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992,
then entered into force on 21 March 1994. The UNFCCC objective is to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations
in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate
system".[2]The framework set no binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries and
contains no enforcement mechanisms. Instead, the framework outlines how specific international treaties
(called "protocols" or "Agreements") may be negotiated to set binding limits on greenhouse gases.
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Initially an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee produced the text of the Framework Convention during
its meeting in New York from 30 April to 9 May 1992. The UNFCCC was adopted on 9 May 1992, and opened for
signature on 4 June 1992.[3] UNFCCC has 197 parties as of December 2015. The convention enjoys broad
legitimacy, largely due to its nearly universal membership.[4]
The parties to the convention have met annually from 1995 in Conferences of the Parties (COP) to assess
progress in dealing with global warming. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was concluded and established legally
binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in the period 20082012.[5] The 2010 Cancún agreements state that future global warming should be limited to below 2.0 °C (3.6 °F)
relative to the pre-industrial level.[6] The Protocol was amended in 2012 to encompass the period 2013-2012 in
the Doha Amendment, which -as of December 2015- not entered into force. In 2015 the Paris Agreement was
adopted, governing emission reductions from 2020 on through commitments of countries in ambitious
Nationally Determined Contributions.
One of the first tasks set by the UNFCCC was for signatory nations to establish national greenhouse gas
inventories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, which were used to create the 1990 benchmark
levels for accession of Annex I countries to the Kyoto Protocol and for the commitment of those countries to
GHG reductions. Updated inventories must be regularly submitted by Annex I countries.
The UNFCCC is also the name of the United Nations Secretariat charged with supporting the operation of the
Convention, with offices in Haus Carstanjen, and UN Campus [known as: Langer Eugen] Bonn, Germany. From
2006 to 2010 the head of the secretariat was Yvo de Boer. On 17 May 2010, Christiana Figueres from Costa Rica
succeeded de Boer. The Secretariat, augmented through the parallel efforts of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Global warming (IPCC), aims to gain consensus through meetings and the discussion of various strategies.
List of the 23 Conferences of the Parties (COPs) to date (including 2016)
YEAR
COP #
PLACE
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
1
2
3
4
5
6
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
The Berlin Mandate
Geneva Switzerland
The Kyoto Protocol on Global warming
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Bonn Germany
The Hague, Netherlands
Bonn, Germany
Marrakech, Morrocco
New Delhi, India
Milan, Italy
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Montreal, Canada
Nairobi,. Kenya
Bali, Indonesia
Poznan, Poland
Copenhagen, Denmark
Cancun, Mexico
Durban, South Africa
Doha, Qatar
Warsaw, Poland
Lima, Peru
Paris, France
Marrakech, Morocco
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Climate_Change_conference
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10 Things To Know About The U.N. Climate Talks In Paris
November 30, 2015. Although this was written before Paris talks, it is still a useful short
introduction to the talks
http://www.npr.org/2015/11/30/457364450/10-things-to-know-about-the-u-n-climate-talks-in-paris
Leaders from around the world will converge on Paris beginning Nov. 30 for the 2015 U.N. Global warming
Conference. The two-week event is designed to allow countries the chance to come to an agreement on stifling
global warming.
Below are 10 questions and answers that should better prepare you for the conference and what to expect
during and after its completion.
1. What's at stake and why should I care?
It's no exaggeration to say that what happens in Paris will affect the future of the planet. Greenhouse gas
emissions keep going up, and scientists say that continuing with business as usual will produce rapid and
devastating warming. This won't just be bad news for polar bears and beachfront homeowners. Unchecked
warming means that dependable food and water supplies could be disrupted, dangerous pathogens could
spread to new areas, and rising seas could remake maps. What's more, extreme weather, plus worse droughts
and more fierce wildfires, could become increasingly common. Security experts even worry that scarce and
shifting resources could lead to violence.
2. What needs to happen to stop global warming?
Many nations want a Paris agreement that will signal a long-term goal of net zero emissions in the second half of
this century. That doesn't mean actually producing zero greenhouse gas emissions. But it does mean producing
no more than the planet can absorb without raising temperatures. Doing this would mean a dramatic
transformation of the world's entire energy system, turning away from fossil fuels to other options like wind,
solar and nuclear power. The task is absolutely staggering — but scientists say it can be done, if the political will
is there.
3. Well, is there really the political will to do all this?
U.N. watchers say the stars are aligned like never before. Before the summit, all countries — rich and poor —
were asked to come forward with their own voluntary pledges for how they would aid the global fight against
global warming. Over 150 countries have submitted national plans to the U.N., and that in and of itself is a huge
deal. Some nations say how they'll cut emissions, while others pledge to do things like preserve forest cover or
use more clean energy. Independent experts have calculated that if the world is currently on track for warming
of about 4.5 degrees Celsius, these pledges would reduce that to about 2.7 to 3.7 degrees — which is real
progress, before the Paris summit even starts.
4. What does the Paris agreement really need to have in it?
The goal of Paris is to produce a short, simple agreement — maybe a dozen pages — that will satisfy nearly
200 nations. Here's what some observers think are key elements for a credible, ambitious plan forward:
Countries need to agree to come back every few years to increase their pledges and keep doing more and
more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
The U.N. must have a rigorous system of accountability and transparency to make sure nations will actually
keep their promises
The poorest countries of the world need support to both adapt to a warming world and to adopt new, lowcarbon energy technologies
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5. There's talk of a 2 degree Celsius warming limit. Will this agreement hit that target?
That target comes from an international consensus five years ago, when nations agreed to limit warming to just
about 2 degrees Celsius (about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial times. The thinking was that this
would avert the worst effects of global warming. But no one thinks Paris will get the world that far. Instead, the
aim of Paris is to come up with an agreement that requires countries to make increasingly ambitious efforts to
combat global warming over time, to put the world on track to meet that target in the future.
6. Rich and poor countries are all part of this thing, but will rich countries have to do more?
There's a lot of tension between the developed world and the developing world when it comes to global
warming. Some developing countries such as India say they're in no position to commit to an absolute reduction
in greenhouse gases when they're trying to bring economic advancement to millions of people who currently
live in poverty. They need a supply of energy, and lots of it. What's more, poorer nations want financial
compensation if they're going to agree to do things like preserve rain forests that will suck up carbon
dioxide. They note that developed nations chopped down their own trees long ago and have burned enormous
amounts of fossil fuels, but now they're being told they can't do the same — so they think the developed world
should pay up. So-called "financing" issues will be a major hurdle that negotiators will have to clear in Paris.
7. How is the U.N. trying to make this deal happen?
Basically, for two weeks, they're going to sequester a bunch of diplomats in a conference center outside Paris.
There's been years of preparation leading up to this conference, and organizers expect tens of thousands of
people to gather. Besides the delegates and diplomats there to do the actual wrangling, tons of businesses,
activist organizations and scientists will be there as well. While some outside events may be curtailed because
of the recent terrorist attacks, the negotiations should go on as scheduled.
8. But, hey, hasn't the U.N. been trying to rein in greenhouse gas emissions for two decades?
It's certainly true that past efforts have had serious shortcomings. Top emitters like the United States refused to
join the landmark 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and it didn't include any developing countries, like China. Then the
2009 Copenhagen summit ended in a shambles, with a weak agreement thrown together at the last minute by
politicians who didn't want to leave the talks with nothing. But things are different this time. The fact that
almost all countries have submitted voluntary pledges shows that governments feel pressure to participate.
Both the United States and China have taken a leadership role. And major public figures like Pope Francis have
been urging action, saying there's a moral duty.
9. What are the big fights going on in the negotiations?
Besides arguing over how much rich nations should pay the poor, there are some nations that simply are not
excited about a zero carbon future. Oil- and gas-producing countries, for example, aren't so keen to leave their
valuable assets in the ground. Another hot-button issue is "loss and damage." That's the idea that there should
be some mechanism to compensate the citizens of places that simply cannot adapt to global warming — for
example, small island states that could disappear under rising seas.
10. What if Paris ends with a whimper?
Scientists say that delaying action is just going to make changes harder and more expensive in the future, and
that really the world should have started this transformation decades ago. If reliance on fossil fuels continues
and produces unrestrained global warming, experts predict dramatic shifts in our familiar maps and weather
patterns. Computer simulations show that New York would have the climate of Miami, and melting ice would
flood major cities around the world. Poor countries would be the hardest hit by a changing world, as they have
the fewest resources to adapt.
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This is similar to the above, but if you are going to represent your role on these things, this will give you a bit more
background on how different countries feel about these key issues. Take notes on where “YOUR” country would
stand on each of these.
Six issues confronted by the Paris Climate Agreement
A guide to the most contentious issues and how they’re discussed in the
Agreement
Robinson Meyer
December 10, 2015
http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/12/what-does-the-paris-agreement-say/419577/
Climate change is a slow story. The permafrost thaws. The oceans acidify. The cost of solar power falls. And
meanwhile humanity keeps adding more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
The climate worsens slowly, and it will be solved slowly. Its works in time scales years and decades-long, not
days or hours. Yet every so often there is an exceptional moment, and we are in one right now. This may be the
single most important week for the climate this decade.
That’s because right now, in a suburb of Paris, global negotiators are in all-day, all-night talks to try and advance
the first major global climate agreement since the 1990s. So far, these highly anticipated talks have gone much
better than expected. They have avoided the acrimony and impassable “red lines” of previous conventions.
But that’s partly because all the easy problems have been solved. Now only the hard questions remain. Here’s a
guide to most of them.
1. How much should the world limit warming?
The background: In 2009, the world’s nations agreed: The global temperature average should not be allowed
to rise more than two degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels.
Since then, study after study has emphasized the dangers of a two-degree-warmed world and the simultaneous
difficulty of actually halting climate change there. When Paris began, some observers expected the UN to
abandon the two-degree limit in favor of something more realistic.
Instead, there are some signs it may embrace a more ambitious target. More than 100 countries, including the
United States, have announced support for limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Many island nations have
declared they cannot accept anything more. China has also signaled its endorsement. Were the UN to follow
their lead, it would be a triumph for both activists and the most climate-vulnerable nations—even though many
scientists, including President Obama’s top science advisor, believe keeping warming below 1.5 degrees to be a
near impossibility.
The text: In the December 9 version of the draft Paris outcome, Article 2, Section 1 deals most directly with
temperature limits:
Text within brackets is still up for debate.
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2. How quickly will the world abandon fossil fuels?
The background: If humanity hopes to keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100, it must
essentially stop emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by 2060, according to a recent study
from Nature Climate Change. (Then it must start pulling carbon out of the atmosphere—no easy feat.)
But should the Paris agreement come out and say that? Delegates are less sure. Small island states want forceful
language, like the phrases above which call for “zero global [greenhouse-gas] emissions by 2060” or
“decarbonization as soon as possible after mid-century.” But Saudi Arabia says that such a goal is a “threat to
sustainable development”—which some interpret as meaning a threat to its oil production. (The head of the
Saudi climate delegation also advises the country’s Ministry of Petroleum.) According to The New York
Times, petroleum-pumping Venezuela is also skeptical of long-term decarbonization language.
The text: In the December 9 version of the draft Paris outcome, Article 3, Section 1 addresses the conference’s
collective long-term goal:
3. Who should pay for the costs of climate change, and how much should they give?
The background: Surprise, surprise: “Climate finance”—that is, who gets money, and who gives it—is the most
controversial issue at the Paris talks.
In order to salvage the 2009 climate talks in Copenhagen, Hillary Clinton pledged that the rich world would
“mobilize” $100 billion to help developing countries make their economies more sustainable and prepare for
the storms to come. The key word is mobilize: Unlike traditional foreign aid, where government money is
redirected to poorer countries, the U.S. and the E.U. would arrange for billions to flow from a variety of sources,
public and private.
Does that count? And is the rich world defined strictly as the U.S., E.U., Canada, and Japan? The United States
would prefer for China and India—two wealthy, powerful nations that also contain hundreds of millions of
people still in poverty—to pitch into that $100 billion target. Yet even as the two talk up their own investment
in the developing world at the talks, they blanche at being compelled to join the rich world’s pledge.
The text: A great deal of the December 9 version of the draft Paris outcome deals with money, but here’s a taste,
from Article 6, section 2:
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4. How often should nations check and reassess their emission reductions?
The background: Two different mechanisms apply here.
The first is stock-taking, when countries will announce how they’ve reduced carbon emissions. The draft Paris
agreement now says global stock-takes will take place every five years. It also says that the first stocktake will
happen in either 2023 or 2024, though the United States wants them to start earlier. The New
YorkTimes reports that the U.S. is angling for the first stock-take to come in 2019 or 2021—both nonpresidential election years.
The second is ratcheting, when countries will announce more ambitious emissions reductions. India hopes for
ratchet sessions to come every 10 years, saying its short term goal must be lifting its people out of poverty. The
U.S. and the Pacific island nations wants countries to ratchet every five years.
The text: Article 10 of the the December 9 draft Paris outcome deals with global stocktaking, as do a few other
sections:
5. Who should make sure nations meet their reduction goals?
The background: The United States wants an outside agency, perhaps similar to the International Atomic
Energy Agency, to make sure nations keep the promises they made before the Paris talks to cut emissions.
China, India, and other developing countries are skeptical of third-party oversight. In the Times, a former
Clinton climate advisor says that the U.S. has increased its climate-finance money to try and gain leverage on the
issue, but that the two rapidly developing powers are happy to wait the talks out.
The text: Right now, mention of an outside agency does not appear in the Paris draft text.
6. Who is responsible for the loss and damage caused by climate change?
The background: As climate change worsens, it will assault not only coastal cities and settlements, but also
rural farmers and fishers who depend on predictable seasons and reliable ocean currents. Who should pay for
all the infrastructure deluged and harvests lost? In 2013, a UN climate conference began establishing an
international loss and damage mechanism to address these concerns.
The United States and other developed countries—which, after all, have emitted most of the greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere right now and thus are responsible for that warming—say they want to help. But they
cannot abide what would amount to climate reparations. “The U.S. clearly acknowledges that these
impacts are being felt, but it does have a red line around increases of compensation and liability,” says
Rachel Cleetus, the lead economist at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The text: In the December 9 draft of the Paris outcome, a standalone Article 5addresses loss and damage:
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7. Who bears responsibility for protecting the climate, anyway?
The background: In 1992, the world adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
This document has guided all future climate diplomacy: This climate convention in Paris formally meets under
its auspices. The framework convention establishes the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility”
for protecting the climate system: That is, everyone has a role to play in keeping the world safe, but highly
developed countries have the most responsibility.
Now, many developed countries want to make sure this principle is adhered to: the differentiated as much as the
common. There’s no single blurb of text to point to that demonstrates this principle, said Cleetus, but developing
countries want it to be a common thread through the text.
“Mitigation commitments, finance commitments—developing countries were asking for these issues to be seen
together,” she told me. They needed “to be decided together under the convention rather than as one-off
agreements on specific pieces of it.”
In particular, she said, they want any ratchet mechanism for emissions reduction to be tied to increases in
finance from developed countries. Developing countries “won’t agree on an outcome where they’re making
agreements to emissions reductions and are not seeing commensurate increases in finance,” Cleetus said.
The text: Again, no single portion of the December 9 Paris draft outcome addresses these issues. But I was
struck by these two adjoining resolutions in the preamble. They’re both bracketed, which means that neither
has a secure place in the final agreement. But they seem almost to argue and rebut each other:
The first clause declares: The most developed countries, the global North, are responsible for what became of
the climate.
But wait, says the second clause: Wouldn’t the global South like to follow the North into prosperity? That means
it will bear more responsibility soon. And it means, too, that both sides together must decide what the climate
becomes now
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Glossary of a Few Terms Related to Climate Change
MITIGATION refers to tackling the causes of climate change through actions that 1) reduce greenhouse gas
emissions or 2) that help remove gases from the atmosphere through things like carbon sequestration by trees
and soils.
ADAPTATION refers to preparing for and coping with the impacts of climate change. In contrast to “fighting”
climate change as you do under mitigation, adaptation is about building sea walls, increasing the height of
bridges so they aren’t washed out during floods, moving to higher ground, moving to a cooler place, etc. We will
need to do both mitigation and adaptation.
CLIMATE is the average weather over long periods of time. For example, we expect it to be wet on the Oregon
coast, dry in west Texas, extremely cold in northern Alaska in winter, etc. as it has been for many, many decades
if not centuries. If there is a “sudden” change (i.e. over a few decades) where drought became frequent on the
Oregon coast, wet weather and regular flooding became the norm in west Texas, or far warmer than average
temperatures occurred regularly at the North Pole at Christmas time, there has been a change in climate.
Websites with information on the Paris Agreement
http://www.uaf.edu/olli/classes-and-lectures/reference-materials-for-s/
Items for class that I don’t pass out will be
posted on this website.
http://bigpicture.unfccc.int/ “This guide seeks to provide a starting point for newcomers to help them take in the
‘big picture’ of the United Nations climate change regime, which is at the forefront of international action to combat
climate change. It guides the newcomer through the various issues covered by the regime, such as mitigation,
adaptation and finance, in order to gain a better understanding of the global efforts to combat climate change. The
guide also tries to explain and demystify the negotiation processes where Parties of the UNFCCC and its Kyoto
Protocol come together to consider on-going efforts and take further steps to enhance those efforts.”
http://newsroom.unfccc.int/paris-agreement/april-22-paris-agreement-signing-ceremony-in-new-york/ This
is the UNFCCC news site. THE NEXT BIG MEETING is this April 22 and 130 countries will attend for the official
signing, which is more than double than they first expected!
http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2015/12/15/a-guide-to-understanding-the-paris-climate-accord-and-itsimplications/
http://newsroom.unfccc.int/ News about that UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which sponsors
the meetings on climate change
https://twitter.com/UNFCCC The UN climate action twitter account provides news stories many times a
day about implementation of the climate agreement
http://www.climatecentral A great site for news on both climate change and the Paris agreement.
They also tweet many times a day about climate news, including lots of breakthroughs that are heartening
http://climateactiontracker.org/ tracks the emissions commitments and actions.
https://www.weadapt.org/ planning, research and best practices for adapting to climate change
http://www.climatefundsupdate.org/listing/green-climate-fund Info on the Green Climate Fund, which will
help pay for climate mitigation (i.e. reducing emissions or increasing carbon sinks) and adaptation (finding
ways to cope with the changes that will affect us in the meantime).
http://www.wri.org/tags/green-climate-fund. More on the ins and outs of the green climate fund, which is a
major issue when it comes to the negotiations.
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http://www.wri.org/blog/2016/04/roads-decoupling-21-countries-are-reducing-carbon-emissions-whilegrowing-gdp?utm_source=climatenexus&utm_medium=referral Here is clear evidence that reducing carbon
emissions does not mean plummeting GDP.
http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/the-francis-effect/ How Pope Francis changed the
conversation about global warming. Many feel that Paris would not have been as effective without his encyclical.
Information on the science and impacts of climate change
http://climate.nasa.gov/ NASA runs many of the satellites that collect data on climate change and they have
lots of aerial and other photographs, interactive tools, and educational information on climate change.
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Space_for_our_climate/ESA_s_Climate_Change_Initiati
ve_CCI. Like NASA, the European Space Agency collects a great deal of information on climate change.
https://www.climate.gov/ One of the definitive sites on climate.
https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ Lots of rich information and statistics here.
https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/glossary.html If you want the official definition of a term related to
climate change, look here.
http://www.globalcarbonatlas.org/?q=en/content/welcome-carbon-atlas This is a fun site with lots of
interesting ways to present the basic data about climate change and a timeline discussing changes in emissions
through human history.
https://www.snap.uaf.edu/tools-and-data/all-analysis-tools Look up what the predictions are for communities
throughout Alaska
http://ipcc.ch/ THE international body of scientists that assesses the evidence and puts out regular
compendiums regarding climate change. They do their best to be very cautious and stick to things that are very
clear. Thus far, the results they have endorsed have generally underestimated the level of impacts and rate of
change, but in order to have credibility, they feel they need to be very careful not to overstate the risks.
http://www.c2es.org/science-impacts A highly respected site with information on science, policy, and lots
about solutions
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming#.VwbTbRMrIxM
https://www.co2.earth/
http://350.org/
http://www.interfaithpowerandlight.org/ A faith based group working for climate action
http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/ A great site on public attitudes toward climate change.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/03/upshot/what-you-can-do-about-climate-change.html Pithy
article on things we can do about carbon emissions in our own lives.
http://citizensclimatelobby.org/about-ccl/ A group dedicated to promoting action on climate change
nationwide, particularly a carbon fee and dividend
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-change The Guardian was one of the first newspapers to
devote considerable time to climate change, and is still on the vanguard.
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