Grade Level: 9th–12th Grade | Duration: 2 days, 50 minutes each
This two-day lesson uses the Financial Times’ interactive “Climate Game” as a decision-making simulation where students take on the role of global policymakers working to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Students make strategic choices about energy technology, land use, transportation, industry, and public policy while observing real-time impacts on global temperature, sea levels, and greenhouse gas concentrations. The activity builds on the International Energy Agency’s “Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario,” which outlines a “narrow but achievable pathway” to dramatically reduce carbon emissions. The lesson addresses Alabama College and Career Ready Science standards related to Earth and Human Activity, including analyzing renewable and nonrenewable energy sources, evaluating human effects on Earth’s systems, and understanding how climate variability influences human activity.
Learning Objectives
Students will utilize an online web game as a model to investigate and analyze the use of nonrenewable and renewable energy sources, examining how informed decision-making affects human stability and world sustainability. Students will obtain, evaluate, and communicate evidence-based information to design models that propose best practices for managing natural resources, protecting biodiversity, and mitigating climate change.
Background & Context
Through passion, necessity, and expert use of technology, scientists have predicted scenarios of what the world might look like in the future and determined what actions we need to take to support a sustainable world for current and future generations. The “Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario” is a model created by the International Energy Agency (IEA) that shows a pathway to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
Net zero represents the concept of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to as near zero as possible, while also offsetting the small remaining amount released into the atmosphere by absorbing the equivalent. According to the IEA, the global energy system must rapidly reduce its emissions to avoid the worst consequences of climate change and ensure a sustainable future. Achieving net-zero emissions requires immediate attention to and transformation of the methods we use to supply and consume energy. Although wind, solar, and electric vehicle production has shown steady growth, net-zero emissions will require these technologies to be supported on a far greater scale.
The IEA suggests the following immediate actions to achieve net zero by 2050: innovation and immediate use of available technologies such as sustainable bioenergy with policies to implement them; cooperation of countries worldwide to work together toward achieving net zero; and an orderly transition across the fuel and electricity energy sector to methods that significantly reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.
The Climate Game by the Financial Times was developed using the Model for the Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Induced Climate Change v7+ (MAGICC), paired with the IEA’s World Energy Model (WEM) and Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP) models.
Day 1 Activities & Structure
Engage Phase (10 minutes) – “Discuss it!”
As a class or in small groups, students analyze the introductory graphs from The Climate Game by the Financial Times and complete Part 1 of the student guide by filling in the graphical organizer. This pre-game analysis establishes baseline understanding of current emissions trends and climate projections before students begin making policy decisions.
Explore Phase (30 minutes) – “Play the game!”
Students use computers, laptops, or iPads to play The Climate Game (https://ig.ft.com/climate-game/). As they progress through the simulation, they complete Part 2 of the student guide, recording their decisions and observations in the graphical organizer. The game presents choices about energy policy, technology adoption, land use, and other factors that affect global emissions trajectories.
Evaluate Phase (10 minutes) – “Draw it!”
Students use their game experience and notes from Part 2 to create a final drawing of their model scenario in Part 3 of the student guide. Since students make different choices during gameplay, their model scenarios will look different from one another. Students should reflect on how their decisions affected their model world’s outcomes.
Day 2 Activities & Structure
Engage Phase (10 minutes) – “Share it!”
Students use their Model Drawings from Part 3 to share with two different classmates and discuss comparison questions (displayed on the board): How does your drawing look different from someone else’s? What decisions caused the biggest impact on your model? If you were the creator of this model (game), what would you do differently?
Explore Phase (20 minutes) – “Research it!”
Students divide into approximately six groups to research specific topics that affected their world models in the game. Topics from The Climate Game include: Cars, Buildings, Industry, Land Use, Public Campaigns, and Adaptation/Infrastructure (preparing for climate change). Teachers and students can add additional topics as needed. Groups use computers, laptops, or iPads to research their assigned topic and record findings in Part 4 of the student guide, addressing questions such as: What action needs to be taken to make [group topic] the most sustainable for now and the future? What are some examples of sustainable designs or practices for your topic?
Evaluate Phase (20 minutes) – “Model it!”
Groups create poster designs to model the most sustainable designs or practices for their assigned topic. This visual synthesis requires students to translate their research into clear, communicable recommendations for achieving sustainability in their focus area.
Materials Required
For each student:
- Access to iPad, laptop, or computer lab
- Internet access to The Climate Game (https://ig.ft.com/climate-game/) — students can search “The Climate Game” and “Financial Times” or use the direct link
- Pages from “(9th-12th) The Race to Reach Net Zero WebGame Student Guide” file (can be distributed digitally for electronic completion or printed for handwriting)
For each group of students (5-6 groups):
- Poster board
- Colored markers
- Black Sharpies
Extension Activity
Given more time, or as an alternative to creating poster models, students could build 3-D models of their sustainable designs using various materials. Additional time would be allocated for students to present their group or individual models through a gallery walk format.
This engaging simulation-based lesson connects abstract climate science concepts to tangible decision-making, helping students understand the complex tradeoffs involved in achieving global sustainability goals while developing evidence-based communication skills.