Our Motivation: UN Climate Negotiations and the "Dangerous Void"

By Andrew P. Jones
September 16, 2008

Why are we charging ahead so strongly with Pangaea (now C-ROADS), our international climate simulation? Here’s one reason why, from Christiana Figueres, our project partner and inspiration and the official negotiator for Costa Rica in the United Nations “Framework Convention on Climate Change” process (they call it the UNFCCC — they’re the folks who created the Kyoto Protocol and will convene in Copenhagen in 2009).

The other day, Christiana told John Sterman, Beth Sawin, Tom Fiddaman, Lori Siegel and me: “Currently, in the UNFCCC negotiation process, the concrete environmental consequences of the various positions are not clear to all of us.  There is** a dangerous void** of understanding of the short, and particularly long term environmental impacts of the espoused un/willingness to act on behalf of Parties.”

Another voice, from the Earth Negotiations Bulletin, International Institute for Sustainable Development 30 August 2008 (Accra was the site of the latest UN climate negotiation). In the closing plenary at Accra “Dovland concluded the session by acknowledging the tremendous amount of work achieved in Accra, but noted that parties still need to enhance understanding of the implications of the options proposed during the meeting.”

And here is an analogy for this need.

The purpose of our Pangaea simulator (now C-ROADS) is to** fill the void** and enhance understanding — provide fast, customized, accurate information about the climate implications of various actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in strategy sessions, policy exercises, actual negotiations, and online by anyone.

Christiana added, ”Pangaea [C-ROADS] is an extremely user friendly tool that facilitates visual understanding of any set of mitigation efforts. As its name would suggest, it shows that all continents need to work as one in the solution to climate change.”

So say we all.