Learning Goals
- Find out which countries are the largest and smallest emitters of CO2
- Reflect on responsibility for limiting emissions
- Understand the role of governmental actions and large corporations
- Examine concepts of climate justice and historical responsibility
- Reflect on responsibility for limiting emissions
- Understand the role of governmental actions and large corporations
- Examine concepts of climate justice and historical responsibility
Description
### Preparation
- Familiarize yourself with the facilitator guide
- Choose and print country list(s) from online resources
- Adapt country list for relevance to participants (include their own country if possible)
- Cut into strips with one country name per strip
- Put one set per group into envelopes
- Prepare wall or board space to display lists side-by-side
- Have tape or pins ready for posting lists
- Prepare large sheets of paper for groups to glue their lists onto
### A. Ordering the Countries (15 minutes)
- Form groups of 3-4 participants
- Give each group an envelope with country strips
**Prompt:**
> "In this exercise, we will look at which countries have the highest CO2 emissions. Why do some emit a lot and others much less?"
> "Work in your groups. Discuss and arrange the country strips in order of annual CO2 emissions from highest to lowest. Think about what you know about each country—industry, transportation, population, development level. When your group agrees on an order, glue your final list onto this sheet."
**Group Work Tips:**
- Encourage discussion and reasoning
- Help groups think about factors affecting emissions
- Note which countries groups assume are high or low emitters
- Take note of stereotypes or misconceptions for debrief
**Facilitator Circulation:**
- Listen to group reasoning
- Ask clarifying questions: "Why do you think that?" "What factors matter?"
- Encourage quieter voices to participate
---
### B. Finding the Solution (15 minutes)
- Collect the lists from all groups
- Hang each group's list next to the correct solution list on the wall
**Display and Comparison:**
- Invite participants to look at both their group's list and the correct list
- Compare similarities and differences
- Note which countries were easy to place and which were surprising
**Facilitator-Led Discussion:**
**Question 1: Observations**
> "What are the differences between your group's list and the correct list?"
**Question 2: Reasoning**
> "Which countries were easy for you to place and why? Which were hardest?"
**Question 3: Assumptions**
> "What assumptions did you make? Which turned out to be wrong? What surprised you?"
**Provide Context:**
Using the facilitator guide, provide historical information:
- China's recent industrialization and current role
- US historical emissions vs. current
- Emerging economies (India, Brazil) vs. developed nations
- Oil-producing countries and their emissions intensity
- Small island states despite low emissions
- Historical responsibility (who industrialized first?)
---
### C. Introduce Climate Justice (10 minutes)
**Facilitator Script:**
> "The Paris Agreement sets goals to limit global warming. But who should take the lead in reducing emissions? Who is most responsible, and who suffers the most from climate change?"
**Reflection Question:**
> "What does climate justice mean to you?"
**Collect Aspects:**
Record participant ideas on the board. Guide them toward including:
- **Share of responsibility:** Richer countries vs. poorer countries; High-emitting countries vs. low-emitting
- **Historical responsibility:** Who industrialized first? Who has been emitting for longer?
- **Per capita vs. total:** Should we count emissions per person or per country?
- **Capacity to act:** Who has resources and ability to change quickly?
- **Vulnerability:** Who suffers the most from climate impacts?
- **Intergenerational justice:** Today's generation vs. future generations
---
### D. Four Corners Activity - Who Should Act First (20 minutes)
This interactive activity uses physical space to represent different positions on climate responsibility.
**Setup:**
Designate four corners or areas of the room, each representing one position.
**Prompt:**
> "Who do you think should take the greatest responsibility for reducing CO2 emissions? We're going to explore different answers to this question."
**Four Positions:**
**Corner 1: High-income countries that historically emitted the most**
- Position: Historical responsibility; wealthy nations created the problem; they have resources to act first
- Countries: US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Canada
**Corner 2: Emerging economies now among the top emitters**
- Position: Current emissions matter most; these countries are major polluters now; they need to act immediately
- Countries: China, India, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia
**Corner 3: International organisations and governments**
- Position: The problem is systemic; needs coordinated international action; top-down policy change
**Corner 4: Individuals and communities worldwide**
- Position: Bottom-up change; individual responsibility; consumer choices and local action
**Instructions:**
1. **Explain all positions** (2 minutes)
- Read each position aloud
- Ask clarifying questions
- Give time to think
2. **Participants choose** (1 minute)
> "Go to the corner that represents what you think. You can move if you change your mind."
3. **In-corner preparation** (4 minutes)
> "In your corner, prepare arguments for your position. Think about:
> - Fairness and justice
> - Historical responsibility
> - Current impact
> - Ability to act
> - Practical effectiveness"
Circulate and help groups think through arguments.
4. **Presentation** (8-10 minutes)
- Each corner presents its arguments (2-3 minutes each)
- Other groups listen actively
- Invite respectful challenges and questions
5. **Reflection** (1-2 minutes)
> "Did anyone change their mind? Why?"
---
### E. Debrief (5-10 minutes)
**Wrap-up Questions:**
> "Is there any open question? Can we have climate justice if only some countries act?"
**Summary Points:**
- Climate change disproportionately affects people who did the least to cause it
- Multiple forms of responsibility (historical, current, capacity)
- No single "right answer"—different values lead to different conclusions
- Solutions require action at multiple levels and in multiple countries
- Justice requires considering both emissions and impacts
**Link Forward:**
> "In the next activity, we'll see more specifically how climate change affects different people and communities around the world."
---
## Key Learning Points to Highlight
- Emissions are concentrated in wealthy nations
- Responsibility for climate action is contested and complex
- Climate justice isn't just an ethical concept—it affects real policy
- Historical responsibility matters
- Vulnerability and emissions are often inversely related
- Solutions require acknowledging multiple perspectives
## Why This Method Works
- Ranking activity engages cognitive thinking about causation and systems
- Reveals mental models and assumptions about the world
- Physical Four Corners creates embodied learning
- Discussion activates critical thinking about justice
- Safe disagreement in corners allows authentic engagement
- Concrete data combined with values discussion is powerful
## Modifications
### Time Variations
- **45-min version:** Skip Four Corners; focus on ranking and discussion
- **90-min version:** As described with detailed Four Corners debate
- **Extended version:** Add second round of Four Corners after global system mapping (Method 3.2)
### Difficulty Adaptations
- **Basic:** Use 10-12 countries instead of full list; focus on obvious high and low emitters
- **Advanced:** Include per-capita emissions; discuss structural causes; introduce carbon accounting debates
### Localization
- Include countries from participants' regions
- Compare participants' country to global leaders
- Discuss what determines their country's emissions
### International or Virtual
- For global groups: Adapt to time zones; use country lists reflecting participants' regions
- For virtual: Use breakout rooms for groups; digital board for posting lists
## Extension Activities
### If you have more time:
- **Per capita analysis:** Recalculate emissions per person—does this change responsibility?
- **Carbon footprint calculator:** Show how individual choices relate to national totals
- **Policy research:** What is your country's stated climate goal? Is it ambitious enough?
- **Just transition:** What does a fair transition away from fossil fuels look like?
## Notes for Facilitator
- Prepare facilitator guide answers in advance
- Be ready to discuss surprising results and provide context
- Create psychological safety for authentic discussion of controversial topics
- Don't judge participant reasoning—use it as a teaching moment
- Historical context matters (industrialization timing, colonialism effects, etc.)
- Be sensitive to participants' own countries and identities
- Some participants may feel defensive about their country's emissions—validate emotions while discussing facts
- The goal is critical thinking, not consensus
## Related Methods
- **Follows:** Method 2.3 (Climate Game) to deepen understanding of emissions
- **Leads to:** Method 3.2 (Global System Mapping) for systemic analysis
- **Leads to:** Method 3.3 (Climate Inequality Walk) for human impacts
- **Bridges to:** Module 4 (Active Citizenship) on what can be done about injustice
- Familiarize yourself with the facilitator guide
- Choose and print country list(s) from online resources
- Adapt country list for relevance to participants (include their own country if possible)
- Cut into strips with one country name per strip
- Put one set per group into envelopes
- Prepare wall or board space to display lists side-by-side
- Have tape or pins ready for posting lists
- Prepare large sheets of paper for groups to glue their lists onto
### A. Ordering the Countries (15 minutes)
- Form groups of 3-4 participants
- Give each group an envelope with country strips
**Prompt:**
> "In this exercise, we will look at which countries have the highest CO2 emissions. Why do some emit a lot and others much less?"
> "Work in your groups. Discuss and arrange the country strips in order of annual CO2 emissions from highest to lowest. Think about what you know about each country—industry, transportation, population, development level. When your group agrees on an order, glue your final list onto this sheet."
**Group Work Tips:**
- Encourage discussion and reasoning
- Help groups think about factors affecting emissions
- Note which countries groups assume are high or low emitters
- Take note of stereotypes or misconceptions for debrief
**Facilitator Circulation:**
- Listen to group reasoning
- Ask clarifying questions: "Why do you think that?" "What factors matter?"
- Encourage quieter voices to participate
---
### B. Finding the Solution (15 minutes)
- Collect the lists from all groups
- Hang each group's list next to the correct solution list on the wall
**Display and Comparison:**
- Invite participants to look at both their group's list and the correct list
- Compare similarities and differences
- Note which countries were easy to place and which were surprising
**Facilitator-Led Discussion:**
**Question 1: Observations**
> "What are the differences between your group's list and the correct list?"
**Question 2: Reasoning**
> "Which countries were easy for you to place and why? Which were hardest?"
**Question 3: Assumptions**
> "What assumptions did you make? Which turned out to be wrong? What surprised you?"
**Provide Context:**
Using the facilitator guide, provide historical information:
- China's recent industrialization and current role
- US historical emissions vs. current
- Emerging economies (India, Brazil) vs. developed nations
- Oil-producing countries and their emissions intensity
- Small island states despite low emissions
- Historical responsibility (who industrialized first?)
---
### C. Introduce Climate Justice (10 minutes)
**Facilitator Script:**
> "The Paris Agreement sets goals to limit global warming. But who should take the lead in reducing emissions? Who is most responsible, and who suffers the most from climate change?"
**Reflection Question:**
> "What does climate justice mean to you?"
**Collect Aspects:**
Record participant ideas on the board. Guide them toward including:
- **Share of responsibility:** Richer countries vs. poorer countries; High-emitting countries vs. low-emitting
- **Historical responsibility:** Who industrialized first? Who has been emitting for longer?
- **Per capita vs. total:** Should we count emissions per person or per country?
- **Capacity to act:** Who has resources and ability to change quickly?
- **Vulnerability:** Who suffers the most from climate impacts?
- **Intergenerational justice:** Today's generation vs. future generations
---
### D. Four Corners Activity - Who Should Act First (20 minutes)
This interactive activity uses physical space to represent different positions on climate responsibility.
**Setup:**
Designate four corners or areas of the room, each representing one position.
**Prompt:**
> "Who do you think should take the greatest responsibility for reducing CO2 emissions? We're going to explore different answers to this question."
**Four Positions:**
**Corner 1: High-income countries that historically emitted the most**
- Position: Historical responsibility; wealthy nations created the problem; they have resources to act first
- Countries: US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Canada
**Corner 2: Emerging economies now among the top emitters**
- Position: Current emissions matter most; these countries are major polluters now; they need to act immediately
- Countries: China, India, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia
**Corner 3: International organisations and governments**
- Position: The problem is systemic; needs coordinated international action; top-down policy change
**Corner 4: Individuals and communities worldwide**
- Position: Bottom-up change; individual responsibility; consumer choices and local action
**Instructions:**
1. **Explain all positions** (2 minutes)
- Read each position aloud
- Ask clarifying questions
- Give time to think
2. **Participants choose** (1 minute)
> "Go to the corner that represents what you think. You can move if you change your mind."
3. **In-corner preparation** (4 minutes)
> "In your corner, prepare arguments for your position. Think about:
> - Fairness and justice
> - Historical responsibility
> - Current impact
> - Ability to act
> - Practical effectiveness"
Circulate and help groups think through arguments.
4. **Presentation** (8-10 minutes)
- Each corner presents its arguments (2-3 minutes each)
- Other groups listen actively
- Invite respectful challenges and questions
5. **Reflection** (1-2 minutes)
> "Did anyone change their mind? Why?"
---
### E. Debrief (5-10 minutes)
**Wrap-up Questions:**
> "Is there any open question? Can we have climate justice if only some countries act?"
**Summary Points:**
- Climate change disproportionately affects people who did the least to cause it
- Multiple forms of responsibility (historical, current, capacity)
- No single "right answer"—different values lead to different conclusions
- Solutions require action at multiple levels and in multiple countries
- Justice requires considering both emissions and impacts
**Link Forward:**
> "In the next activity, we'll see more specifically how climate change affects different people and communities around the world."
---
## Key Learning Points to Highlight
- Emissions are concentrated in wealthy nations
- Responsibility for climate action is contested and complex
- Climate justice isn't just an ethical concept—it affects real policy
- Historical responsibility matters
- Vulnerability and emissions are often inversely related
- Solutions require acknowledging multiple perspectives
## Why This Method Works
- Ranking activity engages cognitive thinking about causation and systems
- Reveals mental models and assumptions about the world
- Physical Four Corners creates embodied learning
- Discussion activates critical thinking about justice
- Safe disagreement in corners allows authentic engagement
- Concrete data combined with values discussion is powerful
## Modifications
### Time Variations
- **45-min version:** Skip Four Corners; focus on ranking and discussion
- **90-min version:** As described with detailed Four Corners debate
- **Extended version:** Add second round of Four Corners after global system mapping (Method 3.2)
### Difficulty Adaptations
- **Basic:** Use 10-12 countries instead of full list; focus on obvious high and low emitters
- **Advanced:** Include per-capita emissions; discuss structural causes; introduce carbon accounting debates
### Localization
- Include countries from participants' regions
- Compare participants' country to global leaders
- Discuss what determines their country's emissions
### International or Virtual
- For global groups: Adapt to time zones; use country lists reflecting participants' regions
- For virtual: Use breakout rooms for groups; digital board for posting lists
## Extension Activities
### If you have more time:
- **Per capita analysis:** Recalculate emissions per person—does this change responsibility?
- **Carbon footprint calculator:** Show how individual choices relate to national totals
- **Policy research:** What is your country's stated climate goal? Is it ambitious enough?
- **Just transition:** What does a fair transition away from fossil fuels look like?
## Notes for Facilitator
- Prepare facilitator guide answers in advance
- Be ready to discuss surprising results and provide context
- Create psychological safety for authentic discussion of controversial topics
- Don't judge participant reasoning—use it as a teaching moment
- Historical context matters (industrialization timing, colonialism effects, etc.)
- Be sensitive to participants' own countries and identities
- Some participants may feel defensive about their country's emissions—validate emotions while discussing facts
- The goal is critical thinking, not consensus
## Related Methods
- **Follows:** Method 2.3 (Climate Game) to deepen understanding of emissions
- **Leads to:** Method 3.2 (Global System Mapping) for systemic analysis
- **Leads to:** Method 3.3 (Climate Inequality Walk) for human impacts
- **Bridges to:** Module 4 (Active Citizenship) on what can be done about injustice
Preparation
- Familiarize yourself with the facilitator guide
- Choose and print country list(s) from online resources
- Adapt country list for relevance to participants (include their own country if possible)
- Cut into strips with one country name per strip
- Put one set per group into envelopes
- Prepare wall or board space to display lists side-by-side
- Have tape or pins ready for posting lists
- Prepare large sheets of paper for groups to glue their lists onto
- Choose and print country list(s) from online resources
- Adapt country list for relevance to participants (include their own country if possible)
- Cut into strips with one country name per strip
- Put one set per group into envelopes
- Prepare wall or board space to display lists side-by-side
- Have tape or pins ready for posting lists
- Prepare large sheets of paper for groups to glue their lists onto
Topics
CO₂ Footprint
Climate Justice
Global Responsibility
Materials Needed
- Country lists (printed and cut into strips)<br /><br /><br />
- One set per group in envelopes<br /><br /><br />
- Board or surface to hang the lists<br /><br /><br />
- Tape or pins<br /><br /><br />
- Facilitator guide with solutions and historical information
Contributor
Open Plan Foundation, Adapted from Osrodek Dzialan Ekologicznych 'Zrodla'