Plans and debates
Climate change is a highly complex topic and the plan/debate structure within the Collaboratorium is a way of ordering the Community’s efforts within this complicated realm.
An issue considered in a debate can be promoted to plan status through the inclusion of models that allow for simulation of projected impacts based on the set of actions proposed.
The transition of an issue from a debate to a plan requires that the topic be deemed important enough that the Community is willing to find or develop models that can simulate the impacts of the proposed actions with the appropriate levels of fidelity and with enough detail that distinctions between plans can be made.
The decision to move an issue from a debate to a plan is an important process within the Collaboratorium. Effectively, it is a way for the Collaboratorium Community to define the key leverage points within this complex problem space.
Perspective embodied in launch version
The launch version of the system:
- frames the climate change issue at the global level
- allows Community members to develop one kind of plan, which addresses the question: What plan should be adopted at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December 2009?
Potential future directions
Many other lenses on the topic of climate change can be useful. The hope is that the Community will build out the systems functionality over time to enable:
- Greater disaggregation
So that more fine-grained approaches can be considered, enabling for example, development of national, regional, local, household, or sectoral level plans. - Creation of plans that address other types of issues
Such as technology mix, carbon pricing, and others.
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