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Mission 1.5 aims to bridge the gap between people and governments by giving twenty million people around the world the opportunity to have their say on ways government can limit climate change.
The campaign, led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), hopes to address the disconnect between citizens and governments that has seen a groundswell of public opinion by citizens around the world, including school strikes and mass protests.
The campaign is built around an internet and mobile-based video game, developed by UNDP alongside experts in game development, climate science and public polling, in which players take on the role of climate policymakers and make decisions to try to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Connection
After the game, players are asked to vote on key climate actions they want to see adopted. This data will be analyzed and delivered to governments, who often lack access to reliable information on public opinion on climate action.
The previous biggest international survey of public opinion on climate change canvassed 10,000 people across 76 countries, and was conducted ahead of the 2015 Paris climate talks.
The Mission 1.5 game can be played by people in every country in the world. It will launch initially in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, with further roll-out internationally throughout the year up to the UN climate talks to be held in the United Kingdom in November.
Achim Steiner, UNDP administrator, said: "Together with partners from across the private and public sectors, we have the ability to connect millions of people with their governments in an innovative two-way discussion on solutions to the climate crisis, and increase ambition ahead of the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow later this year.”
Cassie Flynn, UNDP climate change advisor, said: “People often feel disconnected from the leaders that must make urgent decisions on the climate crisis. Mission 1.5 is a way to help people understand climate solutions and make their voices heard. In many ways, it is the People’s Climate Vote.”
Critical mass
Mary Robinson, chair of The Elders and Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said “The climate crisis will not impact all people equally, so it’s vital that we include communities in the national debates on action to address it.
"Mission 1.5 is an excellent initiative that will help connect millions of people to these high-level discussions, and show governments there is popular support for action as we move towards the crucial climate talks in Glasgow.”
Kathleen Rogers, president of the Earth Day Network, said: “We would urge as many people as possible to play and engage with the Mission 1.5 campaign.
"If the world is to avoid dangerous climate change, we need a critical mass of citizens to care about the challenges and demand urgent, ambitious action now from their leaders”.
This Article
This article is based on a press release from UNDP.
