Name:____________________________________________ Country:_________________
Country Summary Worksheet
Use this form to provide short responses answering the following questions regarding the country you will
represent. You may write as much detail as you need to gain a realistic understanding of your country.
The structured format will help ensure that you represent your country realistically. Use information from
the material linked to the website [http://wolfweb.unr.edu/homepage/kauneck/climate_change_simulation/index.htm] to
answer the questions. Use all available space and feel free use additional space if necessary. Make sure
you discuss the logic of your decisions.
A. General Country Information
1. What are the main economic products of your country?
2. What is the current political situation within your country? Provide a short history of current
national debates or political crisis facing your nation.
3. What type of government does your nation have?
4. Who are you, as a representative of your country, likely to be accountable to back home? Who are
they likely to be accountable to?
5. What is the party that holds power in your country currently? What is their party platform and/or
main issues on which they gained power?
6. What are the main issues that are important for your nation as a whole?
7. How are these issues likely to be linked to the current negotiations?
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B. Answer each of the following questions, and use the responses to develop an answer to the
following; “What level of carbon dioxide emissions will your country agree to reduce by 2032?”
8. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is a common measure of the total wealth of a country. What is the
GDP of your country? [check the World Factbook]. How has it changed over the last decade?
9. Now, select an industrialized country that best represents the level of economic development your
country could realistically have by 2032 (Japan, France, United States, Mexico, S. Korea for
example). Select according to which country is most similar to your nation in terms of population
and level of economic development. How does your GDP currently compare?
10. What were the Total CO2 Emissions for your country in 1980? 2000? Projected to the future? [see
Information about Country Specific Emission Levels]. What overall pattern can you discern? Is it
increasing? Decreasing? At what rate?
11. Has there been an changes to the level of different fossil fuel emissions (Petroleum, Natural Gas,
Coal) in your country [see Information about Country Specific Emission Levels]. What overall
patterns can you discern? Is your use of different types of fossil fuels changing?
12. Compare your Total Primary Energy Production to your Total Primary Energy Consumption [see
Information about Country Specific Emission Levels]. Are you a net energy consumer or
producer? Compare the same numbers for the developed country most similar to you.
13. Using the information from question #10, estimate the amount of carbon dioxide your country will
likely be emitting in 2032 if it follows the current pattern. For the sake of simplicity, assume a
linear relationship and examine the relationship between 2010 and 2032 levels. For example, if
your country was emitting 22 tons in 2010 and 25 tons in 2020, you are increasing emission levels
by 3 tons every 10 years and you can expect to be emitting about 28 tons by 2032.
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C. Use responses to the questions below to develop a position statement for the following; “What
rule will be used to ensure that other countries also reduce their emissions? You have two choices:
(a) that all countries are bound by the same percent reduction, or (b) that countries are bound by a
system of differential obligations. Please explain the reasoning behind your choice.”
14. What is the percent of total global carbon emissions that your country produces? [see
Environmental Overview section of the Energy Information Agency website - Country Analysis
Briefs].
15. What are the 2001 per capita carbon emission intensities for your country? This measures how
much pollution you produce per person. [see World CO2 Emissions-All Countries 1980-2001
(Intensity Per Capita)].
16. What is the per $1,000 of GDP carbon emission intensity of your country for the year 2001? This
measures how much pollution you produce as a portion of your economy. [see Per Capita
Emissions].
17. Which of these two measures makes your country look less polluting in terms of CO2 emissions?
Why? Is one generally a better measure of how clean your economy is? Why or why not?
18. Compare your country’s CO2 emissions (either per capita or per $1,000 GDP) with the
industrialized nation selected in question #9. What is that country’s 2001 emission levels? On
this basis, which country (yours or the industrialized nation in Question #9) is a bigger contributor
to the problem of global climate change?
19. Has your country signed the Kyoto Protocol? [see United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change – Convention Kyoto Protocol].
20. Has your country ratified the Kyoto Protocol? If yes, what year?
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D. Finally, provide short answers to the following question to help you begin thinking strategically
and creatively about the simulation activity:
21. How is your country likely to be affected by global warming? [see World Map of Local Impact of
Global Warming and UNEP - Grid Environmental Information].
22. Which countries do you expect will be natural allies for your policy position? Why?
23. Which countries might you be able to persuade toward you policy position? Why?
24. Which countries might you be able to persuade to agree to your policy position? How?
25. What specific proposals or incentives can you use in order to convince other countries to adopt
your position?
26. What strategy do you plan to incorporate to gain support for your preferred outcome? Why?
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