Abstract for: En-ROADS: Interactive simulation that motivates climate action and delivers insights into high-leverage solutions

Recognition of climate change and its threats is growing, as are pledges to take action. But there are many possible climate solutions, often leading to confusion about which actions to take. Those with intuitive appeal, active proponents, or that are easy to implement often gain traction. But given the need to halve emissions within eight years to limit warming to less than 2 ˚C, there is no more time to waste on actions that are too small, ineffective, or, worse that harm the climate. Instead, there is an urgent need for tools that enable decision-makers across many levels of society to identify high-impact solutions at scale. Research shows that simulations that combine role-play with interactive computer models offer a powerful approach to climate change communication. Here we use a pre-/post-survey design to assess the impact of interactive simulation with the En-ROADS model on participants’ beliefs and attitudes about climate change and climate solutions. Across our sample of 962 participants in 29 simulation sessions, we find that the simulation delivers gains knowledge about the causes of climate change, sense of urgency and hope about it, intent and sense of agency to take action, and ability to identify high-leverage, effective climate solutions.