The Climate Action Simulation

Juliette N. Rooney-Varga, Florian Kapmeier, John D. Sterman, Andrew P. Jones, Michele Putko and Kenneth Rath

Simulation & Gaming, 2020, vol. 51, issue 2, 114-140

Abstract: Background. We describe and provide an initial evaluation of the Climate Action Simulation , a simulation-based role-playing game that enables participants to learn for themselves about the response of the climate-energy system to potential policies and actions . Participants gain an understanding of the scale and urgency of climate action, the impact of different policies and actions, and the dynamics and interactions of different policy choices. Intervention. The Climate Action Simulation combines an interactive computer model, En-ROADS , with a role-play in which participants make decisions about energy and climate policy. They learn about the dynamics of the climate and energy systems as they discover how En-ROADS responds to their own climate-energy decisions. Methods. We evaluated learning outcomes from the Climate Action Simulation using pre- and post-simulation surveys as well as a focus group. Results. Analysis of survey results showed that the Climate Action Simulation increases participants’ knowledge about the scale of emissions reductions and policies and actions needed to address climate change. Their personal and emotional engagement with climate change also grew. Focus group participants were overwhelmingly positive about the Climate Action Simulation, saying it left them feeling empowered to make a positive difference in addressing the climate challenge. Discussion and Conclusions. Initial evaluation results indicate that the Climate Action Simulation offers an engaging experience that delivers gains in knowledge about the climate and energy systems, while also opening affective and social learning pathways.

Keywords: climate change; energy; simulation; role-play; games for change; experiential learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1046878119890643 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:simgam:v:51:y:2020:i:2:p:114-140

DOI: 10.1177/1046878119890643

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Simulation & Gaming
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().