Using Game Theory to Break the Climate Gridlock
As discussed in class, Prisoner’s Dilemma is one of the most notable and standard games in game theory as it applies to a variety of situations, ranging from climate change to sports training. “Using Game Theory to Break the Climate Gridlock” accentuates the relevance of game theory, in particular the prisoner’s dilemma, to describe the motivations and incentives in decisions dealing with climate change. There are two players in this game, which in this case specifically, are China and the United States. The two counties could either cooperate and reduce the impact of climate-damaging operations, or defect and continue with the practice at the cost of further damaging the environment. While taking a variety of considerations into account, such as the costs of climate change and the value of environmental resources, the article illustrates why the players decide to act in a particular manner.
The article also highlights a few interesting points. One of which is the behavior of the players without taking the environmental damage into account. For instance, if this were the case, the two countries in the game would receive a better pay off if they both exploited earth’s resources. However, when the ecosystem itself deteriorates and degrades, then the payoff of exploitation reduces to zero, and the security of resources becomes more attractive. Thus, cooperation is a dominant strategy only if these factors are taken into consideration. However, in another instance where the United States and China can only mitigate the damaging effects of climate change and returns are not worth the cost, then the countries will lean towards defecting.
All in all, this article demonstrates the reasoning behind decisions that countries make dealing with climate change. Decisions are very intricate and require the consideration of many variables. Countries are looking for the optimal payouts and the dominant strategies for their own self interests, as illustrated by the Prisoner’s Dilemma.
Source:
https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/04/climate-change-game-theory-models/479340/