Air Pollution Negotiation Game

Contributed by Dong Young Kim

Workshop participants playing the negotiation game.

On January 21, 2003, as part of the Sixth Mexico City Air Pollution Workshop at Hotel Royal Pedregal, Mexico City, we tried something new. In an effort to examine the probable sources of institutional resistance to the air quality management ideas likely to flow form an “integrated assessment” of the sort we are undetaking, we ran a multi-party negotiation simulation. The game, dubbed “The Air Pollution Crisis in Varara,” asked participants to play a variety of roles in order to simulate the kinds of dialogue likely to emerge in response to the results of a hypothetical assessment of air quality management options.

Inspired by the success of the “negotiation and conflict resolution” class led by MIT Professor Lawrence Susskind at the Mid-Career workshop organized by the the Integrated Program for Urban, Regional, and Global Air Pollution in August 2002 (see Newsletter vol. 2, Fall 2002). Dong-Young Kim, with the aid of Javier Warman and Jed Horne, worked for six months to develop the game, which was then tested by the Mexico City scenario analysis team and other Mexican experts at MIT.

The game features a range of environmental difficulties caused by high levels of ground-level ozone (O3) in an imaginary city and region called Varara and Sandoa. This is a country suffering from global economic drag. With Professor Susskind’s help, the game was designed so that participants could acquire basic scientific knowledge about ground-level ozone, other party’s concerns, negotiation skills, and facilitation skills. Most of all, the participants were given a chance to take in the whole picture of air quality management in a megalopolis and the prospects of using multi-stakeholder dialogue to work out political differences. Game participants were asked to discuss the following measures that might help to improve air quality: 1) Sulfur content of gasoline, which is a precondition for advanced vehicle emission control technology, 2) Vehicle Emission Standards, 3) Inspection and Maintenance program, 4) Public transportation, and 5) Implementation plans.

The situation in the Metropolitan Area of Varara and Sandoa represents well an institutional context in which many political, and economical interests collide while multi-tiered jurisdictions jockey for the political upper hand. Right into that situation, Integrated Assessment data such as the material produced as part of the current MIT scenario analysis is introduced to help the parties gauge their options and make individual and group decisions about them. Each of the stakeholders also had information which they did not share with the other parties or the facilitator. This information reflected the interests of the organizations that the negotiators were representing.

Among the participants, sixty-eight people from a wide range of governmental agencies, corporate entities, NGOs, and student organizations participated in the two-hour exercise. Eight selected facilitators were briefed about necessary facilitation skills one day before the negotiation exercise. There were five Spanish-speaking groups and three working in English. For the Spanish speakers, Professor Basilio Verduzco at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico, translated the game into Spanish.

Even though the exercise started after 5 PM after the long and intensive plenary sessions ended, participants in the game were very serious in their deliberations. Facilitators stood up to coordinate. At some tables, very serious, loud communication was observed. Even an earthquake of over 7 on the Richter Scale did not prevent them from hammering out agreements.

All eight negotiation groups reached near unanimous agreement on ground ozone regulation, although one party at some tables was excluded. With the assessment data provided, participants could calculate how much emission reduction they might achieve as well as how much money it would cost them to do so.

We learned important “truths” about the interaction of negotiations and the use of integrated assessment data. Decision-makers and stakeholders in a metropolitan area can arrive at reasonable, effective, wise, agreements regarding air quality management policies if: (1) they have an opportunity to share an in-depth exchange of views in a well-designed multi-stakeholder dialogue; (2) they are provided with relevant technical information in a suitable format; and (3) formal integrated assessment is considered legitimate, useful, and credible by as many decision-makers and stakeholders as possible.

The following morning, the participants gathered to debrief with Professor Lawrence Susskind, and compare their results with other groups’ performance. They discussed the importance of facilitators, as well as real Mexican context in terms of multi-party negotiation potential.

Many people requested simulation materials after the exercise. Luisa Molina, director of the Integrated Program for Urban, Regional, and Global Air Pollution, decided to post the negotiation simulation game online for use in classrooms or offices for those interested in negotiation and conflict resolution.

Dong Young Kim is a Research Assistant with the Integrated Program for Urban, Regional, and Global Air Pollution.