How Climate Negotiations Work: FA BUT Students Took Part in a COP Conference Simulation
At the invitation of Simon Gilmer, Attaché for Literature and Public Debate, Stéphanie Legoupy, Attaché for Science and Higher Education, and Capucine Martin, Project Manager at the French Embassy in Prague, students from the Faculty of Architecture at Brno University of Technology took part in a full-day event focused on debate training and climate simulation at the French Institute in Prague. The event aimed to practice coordinating shared positions among representatives of the world’s major negotiating blocs. The activity served as a demonstration of a simulated COP conference (Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) and was conducted in the spirit of the commitment adopted in Paris ten years ago—to limit global warming by 2100 to well below 2 °C and to strive for the 1.5 °C target.
The simulation was introduced by the Brazilian, Danish, and French ambassadors, with the French ambassador previously serving as a climate negotiator. The Danish ambassador encouraged participants to engage in bold, cooperative, and innovative negotiations.
The activity was conducted under the expert guidance of French climate consultant and facilitator Clément Maufras, whose preparation and facilitation significantly contributed to the professional quality of the entire program. The simulation was based on practicing argumentation and narrative-building using the En-ROADS model. This system-dynamics model provides immediate feedback in the form of analytical graphs that illustrate the impacts of proposed policies on global temperature trajectories, emissions, and the energy mix. The facilitator continuously entered participants’ proposals into the model, which instantly displayed their global effects and clarified the magnitude and interactions of their cumulative influence.
Alongside facilitators and instructors, the event was attended primarily by students from across the Czech Republic, representing a wide range of universities and fields related to environmental protection and climate adaptation. The team of architecture and urban planning students from BUT—Sára Copková, Peter Velický, and Matúš Kristián Mráz—had the opportunity to observe how CO2 emission costs manifest in the operation of buildings, material production, transportation systems, and spatial planning. These factors significantly shape the economics of construction, renovation, and territorial development strategies.
At the end of the event, two representatives of the student delegation were selected by draw to participate in the evening debate “Paris, Belém… What next?” held in the historic building of Charles University at Celetná 20.
Representing the Faculty of Architecture at BUT, Associate Professor Jiří Palacký and architect Kateřina Dokoupilová, head of the Urban Lab studio, participated in the event as support facilitators, ensuring smooth organization and execution of the simulation.
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