The Environmental Sustainability Team decided to use the Financial Times Climate Game as the core of the interactive session. The goal of the game was to keep global warming to 1.5°C by cutting emissions to net zero by 2050 as well as to protect the environment, encourage living more sustainably and adapting to an already changing climate.
The groups dealt with carbon dioxide as well as greenhouse gases such as methane and were exposed to the causes, effects, and potential future impacts. They had to consider the most efficient methods of protecting people and nature for the planet to remain habitable through adaptation and mitigation. From the beginning, the game encouraged the groups to consider long-term investments and research showing that changes cannot be implemented overnight. Each action chosen cost 'effort points'. Groups that used more effort points early in the game benefitted by future actions costing less 'effort points', making reaching net zero easier.
Importantly, the groups worked collaboratively. They were provided with opportunities to discuss the policy options in smaller teams and then all debated the options to get to net zero. Climate experts from the Council's Environmental Sustainability Team provided support and advice when the decision-makers called upon it. After the debates, the group voted on the policy decision they wanted to implement, the choice was decided through a majority vote. This was to replicate and explore how decisions are made by Council Committees; if there was a tie vote the final decision was decided by their lead council members (their teachers).
Each group made a valiant effort but did not achieve net zero, however, they reduced their emissions and were close to net zero. In hindsight, the groups of students realised that specific decisions on infrastructure and research, early in the game, impacted the effort required for further options to reduce emissions. The decision process and debating were difficult when considering all aspects of climate change and differences of opinion, as students said they did not realise how hard it was to make difficult decisions that affect so many people.
The strategic game is based on published scientific research and emissions modelling developed in 2022 by the International Energy Agency (IEA) for the Financial Times. The scenarios used in the IEA’s “Net Zero by 2050” report were recalculated to track the temperature outcomes for specific pathways used in the game.