Understanding COP and Climate Action
Lesson duration is: 30 minIntroduction
Instructions
Items in this lesson
Students evaluate the mechanisms of international climate summits and the practical goals of global climate action. Direct activities clarify how international agreements translate into national policy and measurable environmental targets.
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Explain what COP is and why it matters.
Identify key issues discussed at climate summits (e.g. emissions, renewable energy, climate justice).
Analyse challenges in reaching global agreements.
Suggest practical climate actions individuals and communities can take.
Aims and objectives
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the planet right now?
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the planet right now?
Draws out students' existing knowledge and vocabulary regarding major global environmental threats, establishing baseline perceptions before analyzing COP policy targets.
Stretch: Challenge students to select one term from the resulting cloud and explain how specific international COP commitments attempt to mitigate that exact challenge.
Device-Free: Direct pairs to write their top planetary challenge on mini-whiteboards and hold them up simultaneously to map out shared class priorities.
COP = Conference of the Parties
Annual UN summit where countries negotiate climate action.
First COP in 1995;
COP21 (Paris Agreement, 2015) was a landmark - pledge to keep global warming well below 2%
Defines the acronym and establishes the foundational purpose of the Conference of the Parties within the framework of global climate negotiations.
Stretch: Challenge students to name one specific treaty that resulted from a past summit, such as the Paris Agreement, and outline its primary objective.
Device-Free: Direct pairs to formulate a working definition of 'COP' in exactly ten words on a mini-whiteboard before revealing the official explanation on screen.
Captures initial student perceptions regarding the global necessity for coordinated environmental action and diplomatic intervention.
Stretch: Challenge students to identify the most prominent word generated by the class and argue why international collaboration addresses this point better than individual national policies.
Device-Free: Direct pairs to write down three distinct reasons for hosting international environmental summits on mini-whiteboards and compare them with another pair to identify common themes.
Only a few countries contribute to climate change.
True
False
Evaluates student recall of core facts about COP summits while addressing common misconceptions regarding international climate policy commitments.
Stretch: Challenge students to rewrite false statements to make them accurate and explain why the correct fact matters for global climate targets.
Device-Free: Direct pairs to write 'True' or 'False' on mini-whiteboards and explain their reasoning to a partner before revealing the answer on screen.
Should wealthy countries pay more to tackle climate change? Explain your answer.
Note: Prompts students to evaluate the ethical and economic responsibilities of developed nations in funding global climate initiatives, moving beyond basic fact recall into complex policy debate.
Stretch: Challenge students to construct a counter-argument explaining why developing nations might also be expected to contribute towards international emission targets.
Device-Free: Direct pairs to debate the prompt for two minutes, agreeing on a final verdict to write on a mini-whiteboard and defend before the class.
Paris Agreement (2015): keeping warming “well below 2°C.”
Growth of renewable energy.
Youth climate movements raising awareness.
Highlights positive international breakthroughs in environmental policy to show how global agreements can achieve tangible emissions reductions.
Stretch: Challenge students to choose one positive outcome from the slide and explain how it directly influenced national environmental policy.
Device-Free: Direct pairs to select the most significant environmental breakthrough on a mini-whiteboard and defend their pick to the class.
Reduce, reuse, recycle.
Eat less meat, waste less food.
Support renewable energy & sustainable transport.
Raise your voice: campaigns, petitions, awareness.
Outlines practical steps individuals and communities can take to support global climate targets at a local level.
Stretch: Challenge students to select one action from the slide and design a realistic timeline for implementing it within their school environment.
Device-Free: Direct pairs to rank three proposed actions on mini-whiteboards in order of feasibility before sharing their top choice with the class.
What one thing are you going to do for the planet?
Directs learners to translate broad international climate targets into personal accountability, pushing past simple fact recall to practical application.
Stretch: Challenge students to estimate the environmental impact if their specific action was adopted by the entire student body for a full academic year.
Device-Free: Direct individuals to draft a one-sentence environmental pledge on a mini-whiteboard and discuss their implementation strategy with a peer.
What does COP stand for in the context of climate change summits?
Committee on Pollution
Climate Organisation of Paris
Conference of the Parties
Council of the Planet
Tests recall of core terminology to clarify common misconceptions regarding the official structure and naming of global climate summits.
Stretch: Challenge students to explain what the term 'Parties' refers to in international law and identify who holds voting power.
Device-Free: Direct pairs to write their selected option on mini-whiteboards and hold them up simultaneously before revealing the answer on screen.
Which COP meeting led to the creation of the Paris Agreement, a major deal to limit global warming?
COP15 in Copenhagen
COP21 in Paris
COP26 in Glasgow
COP1 in Berlin
Tests student knowledge of key historical climate summits by pinpointing the specific COP event that produced the Paris Agreement.
Stretch: Challenge students to state the primary global temperature limit set by the Paris Agreement and explain the significance of that target.
Device-Free: Direct pairs to write their selected option on mini-whiteboards and display them on cue before revealing the correct response.
Climate change can be solved by one country acting on its own without cooperation from others.
True
False
Targets the common misconception that individual national policies are sufficient to resolve a global environmental crisis without cross-border cooperation.
Stretch: Challenge students to explain how emissions originating in one country directly affect ecosystems and climate targets across international borders.
Device-Free: Direct pairs to write 'True' or 'False' on mini-whiteboards and justify their answer to a neighbouring group before revealing the correct response.
Name one major barrier that makes it difficult for countries to agree on climate action.
Some countries rely heavily on fossil fuels.
Disagreements over funding.
Different levels of responsibility (rich vs. poorer nations).
Balancing economic growth with environmental protection.
Tests student understanding of the economic and political obstacles that hinder consensus during international negotiations.
Stretch: Challenge students to select one major barrier and explain how economic reliance on fossil fuels creates differing national priorities.
Device-Free: Direct pairs to write their selected barrier on mini-whiteboards and justify their choice to a neighbouring group before revealing the answer on screen.
If you were leading a climate summit, what would be your top 3 priorities?
Encourages students to evaluate competing global environmental demands by adopting the perspective of a summit leader to select and justify core international priorities.
Stretch: Challenge students to rank their three choices in order of feasibility and explain how they would defend them to dissenting delegates.
Device-Free: Direct pairs to write their top three priorities on mini-whiteboards and swap with a neighbouring group to identify overlapping themes.
This item has no instructions