Ok, we know it: climate change and climate protection are often exhausting issues. The connections are complex, the solutions are sometimes a long time coming (although they are in principle on the table). It is understandable that many people switch off mentally when they are served news about climate change (fortunately not you, dear readers!).
That proves that information about global warming can look completely different and even be fun Financial Times. The colleagues have developed a terrific mini-game for browsers or mobile phones. In “The Climate Game” (Unfortunately only in English so far) the user becomes the doer, and what kind of a doer. Because, as the game explains at the beginning, the state leaders finally want to get serious about climate protection and appoint you the “global minister for future generations”. The aim now is to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, as envisaged in the Paris Agreement.
You have 100 points available, which you can spend in rounds for various measures against global warming. In the question of electricity generation, for example, one is faced with the decision of whether to ban new coal-fired power plants straight away (costs more points) or whether to rely on the market taking care of things on its own (costs less). Should you either rely on better batteries or rather on green hydrogen? Tackle methane emissions straight away or CO₂ first? You have to be smart, because if you squander too many points at the beginning, there may not be enough left for important tasks in the end. With good decisions, however, you can also get points back as a reward – for example, when investments in renewable energies have led to an upswing and millions of new jobs.
The game is played over three rounds, each with a few questions, until you reach the year 2050. In between, a balance is drawn up of how quickly emissions have fallen in individual sectors. In an extremely charming way, complicated data is processed in such a way that people like to deal with it.
In general, you learn a lot in the course of the game without having the feeling that you have to learn anything. For example, when the bad news bursts in about a wobbly tipping point in the climate system (West Antarctic ice sheet about to collapse!), which reminds of the urgency of the task.
The whole thing is based on emission modeling by the International Energy Agency IEA and other studies, so it has a pretty solid scientific foundation. Nevertheless, many things must of course be simplified. Whether a simple advertising campaign will convince climate skeptics of the need for cuts is, realistically speaking, rather questionable.
But maybe you’ve already disappeared at this point to save the world. Therefore, in the words of the FT: Good luck! The planet is counting on you.
(This text is from the weekly Newsletter climate friday you here for free can order.)