It’s getting warmer every year. As we humans make ever more use of fossil fuels, cut down forests and practise intensive agriculture, we are changing the climate: more heat waves and droughts, melting glaciers, rising sea levels.
Participants in the “Climate Neutral City” simulation game competition slip into the role of mayor, a member of “Fridays for Future” or head of the tourism office of the invented city Fonta for the duration of the game. Invited by the mayor, representatives of different interest groups gather at a “Round table” in order to negotiate and to decide about possible measurements on how to reduce the city’s CO2 emissions by half by 2030, based on a fixed budget. It aims to become “climate neutral” and no longer emit any CO2, thus helping to stop global warming. To reach this goal, the players must decide on the steps to take and ultimately achieve a result by working together.
At the end of the simulation game, the commission will present the results and record the presentation in a three-minute video.
It makes sense to implement the simulation game as part of a project day or project week.
The simulation game is played on a PC or tablet using browser-based software. The participants can both discuss and negotiate face to face when at school or, when at home, use a video conferencing tool (e.g., Zoom) to exchange information during the game.