The tug-of–war on development and emissions has settled on two ethnical points - the Climate Change Convention of the UN in 1992 (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol of 1997. As of 2007 it is officially recognized that the Kyoto-protocol needs improvement concerning ecological justice as well as the distribution of emission rights. The distribution principle – first come, first serve – cements the gaps in wealth all over the world. In „Cooling down“ this is pointed out through the inner order of the catastrophe cards.
This means staying in the game for the possibility of decreasing the ability of natural absorption of CO2 through the oceans resulting in a sudden change of climate constants – for example quicker melting of the ice of Greenland. This cannot be excluded.
Each world region in the game is given “C”, the sum of all “C”. lies in the size of the forecast. The world climate council (IPCC) in its B1 scenario assumes “C” to be as high as 740 billion tons of CO2 that will be emitted until 2050.
Just as in real life in “Cooling down!“ the “C” takes the task of enabling the direct or indirect adaptation of climate change in the third world countries and in emerging markets. This is being done with the help of funds from the rich countries, as it is intended in the Kyoto-Protocol. What is missing is the linkage of “C” to the criterias of →Justice.
Justice in the modern sense refers to the distribution of collectively produced goods. The use of nature and its resources – for example the atmosphere – is not collectively planned but it is being collectively polluted and even destroyed. Progress of “Western“ civilisation has been dependent on a permanent cutting-back of resources. The consequences of this type of development for countries in the South and East will yield more suffering than in the West. In the game, especially Lifeboat 3 and 4 symbolises a balance.
Cow dung is the excrement from cows. In the European Alps, in some parts of Turkey, Africa, India and China the “cow droppings“ are being used as organic building material, as an energy source, as valuable agricultural fertilizer and as a medicament. In India, the cow dung diluted with water is being used to clean houses and temples, to produce a natural, hygienic barrier against insects, It is also a good culture medium for the holy animals, an aspect of the hinduistic world view. The social drama behind “Cooling down!“ enables the future contains in - Lifeboat 1 – for the majority of the world family. This depends on play during the course of the game.
Climate induced social destabilisation of the world regions cannot be solved by the classic military cooporate-safety-policy-strategies. Social and technical strategies to reduce the risk faced by vulnerable populations should be introduced as more frequent disasters in different locations are forecast to occur due to a changing climate.
A core activity of preparedness is embodied in the Hyogo Framework of Action endorsed by 168 governments immediately after the 2004 Indian ocean Tsunami. Early warning is a social process of raising public awareness aimed at saving lives and livelihoods. A global, multi-hazard early warning system is needed for all hazards and all people.
The right to have a minimum standard for a healthy and safe environment (air, water, rays, noise etc.) → See Lifeboats.
Ecological Justice is more precise then → Sustainability. Until now there exists no agreed upon theory of ecological justice as a dimension or component of social justice. A social situation is considered ecologically just, if
In the beginning of the year 2005, Germany and the European Union introduced a new instrument for the climate protection, the “E” against the GreenHouseGas CO2..
The Idea: The expulsion of CO2, that powerplants and other industrial establishments put into the atmosphere, should be reduced with low costs.
The principle: The operators will receive free certificates. These allow a specific output of CO2 – this is intended to facilitate economical flexibility.
In the game there are two strategies, the “CDM” and “JI”:
The Clean Development Mechanism – the mechanism of ecologically just development of rich and poor countries – and the Joint Implementation – indicates the ‘collective conversion’ of climate protection measures between rich countries – those are typical strategies of “E”.
“E” are countries in the world, such as China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa – that are on the edge, standing on a “threshold“. They are just behind the western industrial states in their quickly growing CO2 emission level and their quickly increasing Industrialisation.
In the game: “The dirty 13“.
"Factor 4" is the formula for a new direction for technical progress (“Efficiency Revolution“). Wealth will double and at the same time the use of natural sources will be reduced by half. The more efficient division of natural resources is a very important instrument at this point. The waste of resources should no longer be economically viable. “Cooling down!“ works this out with its own strategies.
The “Fireline” is symbolically supporting the internationally acclaimed “2-degree-celsius-border“.
A crossing of this line should not occur in reality. According to climate models, after this has happened it will lead to an even more dangerous rise of global temperature.
National governments are not able to reduce enough of their GHG as necessary – a worldwide regime is coming, with executive rights, to bring in power to a “2 Grad Crash Program”. The program will drop the emissions peak by a resolute 5% per year, leading to peak carbon-dioxide concentrations around 410 ppm. Note: with this reduction, there will be still an alarming risk from 9-26% chance of exceeding 2 Grad degrees.
“G” is often understood as good governing. What is actually meant is that the state makes decisions and puts them into action. Good Governance – also understood as “the art of governing“ – includes the actions by the government, as well as, the cooperation between the state and civil society.
… means, for instance, someone has three very powerful cars, but all cars are emitting more than 200 grams of CO2 per km. But the lighting in the huge car garage is powered from solar energy. In other words: G. means: speaking about your green activitiess, but in reality, accomplishing nothing.
The UNFCCC framework convention contains provisions concerning all greenhouse gases covered by the 1987 Montreal Protocol to the United Nations Convention on Protection of the Ozone Layer. The focus of the Kyoto Protocol, however, is on the following three:
Carbon dioxide (CO2): 50 %; Methane (CH4): 18 %; Nitroues (N2O): 6 %.
American physicist, Charles Keeling, was the first to measure the ‘breathing in-and-out’ of nature by its CO2 content in 1958 at Mauna Loa in Hawaii. From May to October the values are sinking, when trees and other plants on the northern hemisphere are expending carbon dioxide, because they are growing and getting new leaves. The rest of the year the numbers are rising again. One year old plants are dying, leaves are falling and decomposing and they are giving off CO2 freely into the air. Each year in May the “Keeling Curve“ reaches a higher value, because the billions of human beings are constantly blowing CO2 iinto the atmosphere with their exhaust pipes and chimneys.
“Kyoto-plus“ stands for the search for guidelines of a justified climate policy after 2012. Drastic cuts - for example 30% less emission until 2012 – are to be expected → Lifeboat 1: Cow dung-future
The “O”. is a rolling element that gives the hope of replacing the technical principle of rotation – rotation is not a natural phenomena. The “O” is staying for the next generation of machines.
… the truth will come after 2045 – in reality and in the game. All efforts made in the years after 2012 for reducing the GHG emissions have failed. The GLOBAL-CARBON-REGIME has done his work. The WORLDPARLAMENT is in power, a new world-order is rising: The consiousness toward ecological justice is finally growing as we are members of a world family. This will result in new forms of Democracy.
Everyday, people around the globe are threatened by storms, floods, droughts, landslides, earthquakes and other natural hazards. They suffer because of their social, economic, geographic and environmental circumstances. However, disaster risks can be countered through approaches such as public awareness campaigns, knowledge of hazards and vulnerabilities – this and more is “P”.
Red is the color of alert – the “Red Oceans” on the back of the board is an invitation to think around the corner: To bring the awareness to the fact, that the world’s oceans are coming more and more – like the atmosphere – to its ecological limits, the running process of increasing acidification of the oceans will destroy the food chain.
“The science and craft and techniques of things are S. province. Always she holds in her nature and can give to those whom she has chosen the intimate and precise knowledge, the subtlety and patience, the accuracy of intuitive mind and conscious hand and discerning eye to the perfect worker.” Sri Aurobindo
S&S is a German light house project: It pays interests with revenues for the financial engagement of each civilian when reducing and saving on energy consumption – this can for example be achieved by using photovoltaic systems on the roof of schools.
The “S” is representing a new type of business - more than the for-profit oriented type of entrepreneurship. The new paradigm of entrepreneurship is based on “Social Business”. Here is found “Private-Public-Partnerships” – and the ability to combine public needs with the forces of private stakeholders.
The Idea of “lasting development“ in Germany can be traced back to the year 1713. Nowadays, this idea is losing value, because “lasting“ means responsibility for the future, a fair legacy. All in all, future generations should not have worse conditions then we have today. No generation is in comparison to the next one in any special way.
The poor farmer woman in Bengal should not have the same responsiblity for the damage and change in climate as a car driver, that drives a car with CO2-emissions above the permitted limit of 120 gCO2/km.
The people in the rich countries, the most industrialized countries, use too much energy: the energy-rich; the poor countries, the developing countries on the other hand, are facing an energy poverty. This discrepancy is dissolvable. Technologically, it is possible, through 2050, to bring down the per capita energy consumption in the developed countries around one third. Climate friendly technologies are there, the integration of energy efficiency in cars, buildings, production processes etc. is possible, today and not in a distant future. It is possible to improve the efficiency of a kilowatt hour by a factor of 4 to 5. The luxurious level of energy consumption, today is characterized by the “6000-Watt-per-head-world society”. We are able to downgrade this within the coming 50 years – by using well-known high efficiency technologies. A more fair, justice and economical “2000-Watt-per Head-World Society” is coming.
The present organisation of energy supply, worldwide, is facing a huge challenge: The unbroken trends in the world energy consumption – based on fossil and nuclear energy – is increasing and presents a risk to all. The interception with the climate system on earth is on the verge of catastrophic conditions. A climate friendly rebuilding of our energy supply is necessary. The replacing of centralised powerplants is only one step; energy efficiency and renewable energy will bring in power to a more flexible, more secure and, at first, a more climate friendly energy infrastructure – certainly a fair option for a more just future. In “Cooling down!” this is represented by the “Public Power Supply” an important part of this future.
Weather is around you, day-by-day, and not foreseeable more than 48 hours. We speak of climate in the long term.
Weak States are hardly in the position to protect their people from the consequences of global climate change. Storm and other natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina in the USA (2005) – trully have the potential to empower the public even in highly developed societies. This is more the case in weak states, where you find the weak efficiency of the state regarding good governance, freedom of the press, and corruption. This is simulated in “Cooling down!“.