Is Democracy Failing at Climate Change?
Videos
Grades11, 12, APCivics, History
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Ecosia
What it is
- This video critiques the form of parliamentary democracy common today and proposes three solutions to update democracy.
- Students are introduced to concepts like strategic voting, alternative votes, citizens' assemblies, and separation of powers.
Teaching tips
Positives
- This video challenges students to reflect on current power structures that they may otherwise consider unchangeable.
- The video is easy to follow and explains each concept it mentions.
Additional Prerequisites
- You can select which part of the video you would like to watch by selecting it on the scroll bar at the bottom of the video.
- Students should remember that the form of government (parliamentary democracy) discussed in the video may not have the same structure as their country's government.
- There may be an advertisement before the video.
Differentiation
- Have students consider how the ideas presented can be applied to their local, state, and national governments.
- As a follow-up activity, turn your classroom into a citizens' assembly, challenging students to propose new ideas and laws that would positively impact their community.
- Have students reflect on why democratic decision-making is important to solving climate change and ensuring climate justice.
- This resource can also be used in economics classes during lessons about the role economic systems and private interests play in democracies.
From the scientist review
This video resource presents a brief introduction on the climate crisis and then turns to politics, presenting the parliamentary process first as an obstacle to climate action and then providing possible solutions to make governments more representative of individual citizens. This resource primarily focuses on the parliaments of Europe, particularly Germany, but this provides a good opportunity to task students with examining how their governments compare. Voting strategies, policy-making, and citizen assemblies are discussed at length in this video and there are some excellent resources linked in the video description for further learning. This video resource is compelling, well-sourced and is recommended for teaching.
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