Mon Jun 1, 02020, 11:00PM UTC
Curt Newton
En-ROADS: Exploring Climate Change Futures
On June 1, 02020, Long Now Boston welcomed climate activist Curt Newton, who led an interactive virtual workshop on climate change. Curt introduced our audience to En-ROADS, a modelling tool to explore the impact of policy options on the trajectory of climate disruption.
Inspiring Climate Change Action
On June 1, 02020, Long Now Boston welcomed climate activist Curt Newton, who led an interactive virtual workshop on climate change. Curt introduced our audience to En-ROADS, a modelling tool to explore the impact of policy options on the trajectory of climate disruption.
Curt Newton is Director of MIT OpenCourseWare, which freely shares materials from thousands of MIT courses used by millions of learners and educators around the world. Prior to joining OCW in 2004, he worked at AT&T/Lucent Bell Labs as a communications network systems engineer and co-founded a data network equipment startup. Curt serves on the steering team of 350 MA and is a trained Climate Reality Project Leader. Curt co-produced and co-hosted 3 seasons of the Climate Conversations podcast; helped launch and build the ClimateX online climate change community that became MIT’s climate portal; and was staff representative on the MIT Climate Action Advisory Committee. Curt’s participation in a 2016 World Climate Simulation game introduced him to Climate Interactive’s work. He learned to facilitate World Climate, with a personal interest in reaching high school communities (being a parent of two young people). He has facilitated En-ROADS games and workshops for high school classes and enrichment programs, graduate-level education students, a global network of education innovators, workplaces, citizens, and the MIT community.
Curt Newton
Speakers
Inspiring Climate Change Action
On June 1, 02020, Long Now Boston welcomed climate activist Curt Newton, who led an interactive virtual workshop on climate change. Curt introduced our audience to En-ROADS, a science-based tool that simulates various environmental parameters, resulting in potential climate change solutions. By manipulating these parameters using the En-ROADS simulator, Curt demonstrated the connectivity of these parameters and the contribution that each has on potentially stabilizing global temperature and sea-level rise over the coming decades. En-ROADS is an educational tool that can help individuals and institutions think long-term about climate change and the policy options that can make a difference.
Key Learnings from the workshop:
Climate change is a serious threat to the survival of natural systems on Earth.
If we continue operating under our current policies, global temperatures are expected to increase by over 4° C by 2100, which is greater than twice that of our climate goal of 1.5-2° C. What actions are required to reach our climate goals? Who is responsible? Studies show that the increasing climate-related data accumulation and modeling, which are incredibly important and useful in their own right, are not necessarily useful in inspiring people to take action on climate change. En-ROADS strives to identify ways to engage and motivate individuals and institutions to take action now in order to achieve long term benefit.
Climate Interactive’s En-ROADS simulates the climate impacts of policy options.
What are the consequences, and uncertainties, when the metrics change on factors, such as energy supply or carbon sequestration methods, that contribute to climate change? The En-ROADS tool literally allows us to manipulate the level of any one, or several, factors, resulting in endless potential scenarios. Curt walked us through several examples by manipulating the various factors that influence increasing temperatures and we were then able to visualize the different simulated outcomes. We learned that factors including energy, transportation, population growth, land use, and others do not exist as distinct factors, but are interconnected.
It is important for the future of natural systems to explore ways to increase climate literacy and discuss reforms that both individuals and institutions can enact now to mitigate future environmental risk. Anyone can try their own experiments based on unique assumptions using the En-ROADS tool and get immediate feedback on the likely impacts of the scenarios chosen. The exercise provides the opportunity to become better informed about the impact of current and proposed policy options on the climate. Armed with these insights, an individual will be a better advocate for responsible climate policies in conversations with family, friends and with the legislators that make those policy decisions. Collectively, it will be an informed citizenry that inspires legislators to enact evidence-based policies that achieve long-term benefits of a healthier planet. We owe this to our descendants.
Climate policy is complex – the choices are interconnected – the outcomes are stark.
As Curt led the participants through the workshop, it became increasingly clear that any one individual policy option relating to energy supply, industrial infrastructure, agriculture and land use, transportation economics or carbon removal does not have a material impact on the global outcomes. It is the collective impact of combined options that begins to bend the curve of future temperature rise. Moreover, many believe that keeping temperature rise below the 2 degree centigrade level is necessary to avoid climate extremes requires implementation of measures across the full range of options.
This conclusion reinforces the critical importance of long term thinking in addressing climate change. The outcomes we want to change are long term, but the measures we need to take to get there are immediate.