A smörgåsbord of climate literacy methods: Outlines & experiences

Abstract

<p>The Earth and humanity face real existential threats.&#160; The problems are well known: global warming, <strong>climate change</strong> (<strong>CC</strong>), deforestation, pollution, temperature increase, biodiversity loss and so on.</p><p>CC is the most dangerous threat of our time.&#160; It &#8220;affects every single living being and every ecological niche, with poorer communities suffering disproportionately&#8221; (session abstract).&#160; Action and knowledge are needed to combat this crisis so that future generations are saved.</p><p>It is important that people learn about CC and its effects, and then learn how to act.&#160; <strong>Climate literacy/learning</strong> (<strong>CL</strong>) is the only way in which people can come to understand and become literate so as to make decisions that are grounded in <strong>geoethical </strong>principles.&#160; As the session abstract says, &#8220;the more people are knowledgeable about the changes affecting their lives, the more they will be able to make informed decisions and to adapt and mitigate&#8221;.&#160;&#160;</p><p>Many <strong>CL paths</strong> exist, all the way down from masters level courses, through collective initiatives, to individual actions.&#160; In our presentation, we will review a variety of CL actions and methods.&#160; These include:</p><ul><li>En-ROADS, a simulation model, developed by Climate Interactive, for negotiating scenarios to limit future global warming.&#160;</li>\n<li>Fridays For Future (FFF), &#8220;a global climate strike movement that started in August 2018&#8221;.&#160;&#160;</li>\n<li>Online participatory simulation to learn about the effect of CC on the oceans, with people from many countries.</li>\n<li>PhD programme on CC impacts on natural coastal risks and adaptation pathways for the Mediterranean coast.</li>\n<li>University courses in environmental science and in ecology.</li>\n<li>Youth Climate Leaders (YCL), an organisation created by four Brazillain women &#8220;to offer solutions to help young people tackle [...] the climate crisis and structural unemployment&#8221;.&#160;&#160;</li>\n<li>Associations, experience volunteering.</li>\n<li>Conferences, participation.</li>\n<li>Designing, playing and debriefing games.</li>\n<li>MOOCs, our experience with several online courses on CC and CL.</li>\n<li>Reading and video documentaries.</li>\n</ul><p>We also encourage attendees to share their thoughts and outline their own CL experiences and methods.&#160; We will also attempt to answer questions that the audience may have.</p>