Bindu Bhandari

Seven tips for finding an audience for your En-ROADS events

June 27, 2022 By Bindu Bhandari

Are you interested in leading an experience using the En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator, but are unsure how to find an audience for your event? If that’s the case, we have got you covered! Below you can read through our seven tips for finding an audience for your En-ROADS events.

1. Find a connector

If you are looking to reach broader audiences, try to engage with individuals who are connected to people outside of your network. Introduce them to En-ROADS and ask if they know others who might benefit from an En-ROADS event. Many people have never seen anything like En-ROADS, and so a short demo can spark ideas or get them excited about what you can offer to their network. This strategy has been particularly effective in reaching out to decision-makers in our experience. We look for someone who can introduce us, rather than just knocking on the door of a top leader who we do not know. Remember, En-ROADS events do not always have to be formal. We have run a number of En-ROADS workshops during lunches, at retreats, or during informal receptions. Sometimes, the events are as short as 15 minutes, but this can still spark ideas and open up productive conversations.

2. Reach out to your local institutions

No matter where you live, every community has a wide range of local institutions, organizations, and clubs established to meet varying social, economic, humanitarian, or religious pursuits. Even if you don’t have memberships or affiliation to these institutions, many are welcoming new projects and event ideas from guests.

Perhaps the easiest way to reach out to an organization is through the contact numbers provided on their website or through social media. You are most likely to find an opportunity to present En-ROADS, however, if you can first connect with someone who is associated with the institution.

Some of these institutions include:

i. Service groups – An example would be Rotary International. Rotary is an international humanitarian organization that has over 46,000+ local clubs worldwide. Each Rotary club organizes diverse events and projects throughout the year and welcomes new event/project ideas. Recently Rotary International just added the environment as one of their 7 focus areas, and as a result, we have been seeing more and more En-ROADS events being run for Rotary members!

ii. Environmental networks/organizations – As an example, The Climate Reality Project (founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore) has trained tens of thousands of climate leaders worldwide. Some of our facilitators and En-ROADS Climate Ambassadors (ECAs) are among these trainees and have collaborated with local and regional chapters of the Climate Reality Project to facilitate En-ROADS events. For example, in Latin America, ECAs are partnering to do joint En-ROADS and Climate Reality events.

iii. Community user groups – There is a multitude of user groups around the world based on different themes, needs, or service types (e.g. Forest User Groups, Water User groups, and Saving and Credit cooperatives). Such user groups often hold meetings at regular intervals which might provide an opportunity to introduce them to En-ROADS.

iv. Youth clubs – An example would be Global Shapers Community, an initiative by the World Economic Forum focused on youth-led solutions and actions. The Global Shapers community has hubs in 148 countries around the world. En-ROADS could be of great interest to such clubs, just reach out to them and make an elevator pitch!

v. Sports clubs – At a glance, a sports club might not appear to be a group interested in hosting an En-ROADS event. But since climate change touches all our lives, increasingly people from all sectors seem keen to learn about ways to meaningfully address climate change. Thus, we encourage you to reach out to groups which don’t necessarily fall onto your potential audience list. We can say this because some of our facilitators have had great success in engaging the sports community!

Terry Muir Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club In Melbourne Australia April 2022

vi. Community libraries – Many communities around the world have public libraries that hold an array of public events. Did you know that some of our ambassadors have been facilitating En-ROADS events regularly at their community libraries? Now, it’s your turn to give it a try!

3. Contact your school alumni networks and clubs

Alumni networks have been a great asset for En-ROADS outreach. Drop an email introducing En-ROADS to your alumni network, or have friends connect you to their networks and express your availability to present En-ROADS. Be concise and straightforward in your approach.

Also, with increasing momentum for climate action globally, schools and universities are encouraging their students to establish environmental and sustainability clubs. Such clubs are always on the lookout for innovative tools and ideas to shape their knowledge and engagement. En-ROADS would definitely interest them.

4. Promote your event on social media

Social media can be a great way to increase the visibility of your event. We often see facilitators using LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to promote their En-ROADS events. We understand it might not come naturally to self-promote your work on social media, but, there are ways to make the content informative and appealing. To enhance your post, try adding a fact or figure relevant to the issue or point you’re trying to make, and attach media (photo/video) to draw people’s attention. Use hashtags such as #EnROADS to increase the chances of your content being discovered by others on social media. Some have even had success experimenting with paid advertising on social media in some areas.

5. Brand your event for your audience

Branding can be as important as the delivery in some cases. Think about the audience that you are trying to reach and what they care about. Most often an emphasis on climate solutions or climate and equity will draw people in, but we have also seen En-ROADS events be shared as a way to “create your own future”, or “cultivate leadership skills”.

You don’t necessarily need to have En-ROADS in the title of your event. You can have your entire event centered around climate justice or transition to a green economy, and En-ROADS could still serve as one important tool in your toolkit. If you are planning to facilitate En-ROADS in a local language, it would be more relevant to have your event title in the local language.

6. Look out for special opportunities and occasions

Organizations and networks, regardless of their niche, will be planning to commemorate some of the widely celebrated international days such as Earth Day, Environment Day, Biodiversity Day etc. Capitalize on those dates and occasions to present En-ROADS. The key would be to reach out to potential partners and hosts ahead of time to make space for your event in their calendar.

7. Find your fit, be prepared, and stay flexible

The successful marketing of your En-ROADS event has three determining factors:

i. Finding your fit – Not all the available audiences or platforms might be the right fit for you. Of course, you are encouraged to reach out to diverse audience types as En-ROADS is a global simulator model that is used by people from all walks of life. But having clarity on which sectors (e.g., business, policymaking, education etc.) and audience types you best relate to will save you time in finding the right audience for your skills and expertise.

ii. Be prepared – Memorize your elevator pitch for En-ROADS. You never know when an opportunity might present itself for you to facilitate an En-ROADS event. Say, during your morning walk, you meet a CEO of a leading company interested in making their operations carbon neutral or a high school social teacher looking to make climate science more palatable for their students. You’d want to be prepared on what would be the first few sentences that might interest them to host a full-fledged En-ROADS workshop or game.

iii. Adapt to the needs of your audience – The En-ROADS Climate Workshop or the Climate Action Simulation game, the two most widely used group experiences with the En-ROADS simulator, might not always be what your potential audience is looking for. Sometimes you don’t have a full hour or more to work with so you may need to adapt your En-ROADS event to fit a smaller amount of time. Other times it will be important to spend time focusing on specific topics to suit a particular audience or facilitate events in the local language. Try to be flexible and cater for the needs and interests of your audience.

Please remember that despite your best intention, some of your efforts might not work out. And that’s okay! The best thing to remember is that you are doing all you can to make this world a better place for everyone. As Climate Interactive Executive Director Andrew Jones says, “It’s not going to be easy but it’s going to be worth it… go get ’em!”

4 Tips on Facilitating the Climate Action Simulation with En-ROADS

April 14, 2022 By Bindu Bhandari

My name is Kilian Woods and I’ve been an En-ROADS climate ambassador for over two years. I had the chance to facilitate a Climate Action Simulation in January 2022 together with Bindu Bhandari, Heathcliff Demaie, and Hiske Overweg to the engineering students of IIT Delhi.

The simulation lasted three hours and was a great experience. The goal of this role-playing game was to introduce the students to the En-ROADS simulator developed by Climate Interactive and MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative.

There were 8 groups composed of around 35 students. The groups were:

1. Climate Justice Hawks
2. Clean Tech
3. Conventional Energy
4. Industry & Commerce
5. Land, Agriculture, & Forestry
6. Developed Nations
7. Developing Nations
8. Emerging Nations

Screenshot 2022 01 30 At 5.05.35 Pm Copy 3

The groups had to negotiate an agreement during the simulation.

After reflecting on the Climate Action Simulation with the engineering students from Delhi, I’ve come up with four tips that helped me whilst facilitating the Climate Action Simulation with En-ROADS.

1. Create a safe space where the participants can share their ideas

The participants can have diverging opinions on different topics, and it is important they feel safe to share their opinions. A way to facilitate this is by acknowledging that there are different opinions and hearing each of them without taking sides. For example, when mediating negotiations with the groups the facilitators can create breakouts where the groups can reflect about their proposals and invite other groups to join their breakout room.

2. Be clear about the purpose and the roles of each of the groups

The facilitators should aid the participants in reflecting on what their groups represent before the simulation. This could be done by providing each participant with a briefing statement about the groups and by doing an initial session with the participants to explain to them their roles for the UN summit.

There is also the possibility to create a longer program around a Climate Action Simulation in which the groups would meet before the negotiation to participate in sessions about negotiating, lobbying, and influencing. These workshops could be delivered in the form of seminars by guest speakers — such as, inviting negotiators that have attended UN Climate Summits to an event beforehand. Participants could also share their individual reflections about the seminars, such as through individual assignments followed by group discussions.

3. Make the participants feel like they are negotiators in a UN summit on climate change

The facilitators should stay true to the characters they are playing whilst helping the groups negotiate agreements. For example, have someone play the UN Secretary General and give a strong opening and ending speech during the Climate Action Simulation.

4. Accentuate a feeling of hopefulness about the emerging future to the participants

Facilitators should explain the urgency of finding solutions to the climate emergency whilst also inspiring the participants that they can contribute to the solutions. For example, during the closing speech, the UN Secretary-General should congratulate each of the groups for coming to an agreement.

The Climate Action Simulation creates a simulation of a UN summit that allows participants to examine their ideas and notions about opposing ideas on climate change action. For both participants and facilitators, it is a tool that allows you to improve your communication skills, which is important when negotiating, lobbying, or influencing leaders to take the actions necessary to implement solutions to climate change locally or globally. I was impressed by the outcome of the final agreement and the response of the participants at the Climate Action Simulation workshop with students from Delhi. I believe these four tips helped me in delivering this workshop and could help facilitators to deliver their Climate Action Simulation workshops.

Find more guidance and materials for facilitating the Climate Action Simulation at https://www.climateinteractive.org/climate-action-simulation/

5 tips for bringing justice and equity into En-ROADS events

April 5, 2022 By Bindu Bhandari

As the window of opportunity to climate-resilient development is swiftly closing, how do we ensure that climate justice and equity remain central to our actions and choices? At Climate Interactive, our En-ROADS simulator allows users to create and share scenarios to limit the rise of global average temperature. Below are some tips for bringing justice and equity into En-ROADS events.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just released the final part of its sixth Assessment Report (AR6). Throughout the report there is emphasis that the choices we make in the next decade will be a deciding factor for our success or failure in achieving climate-resilient development. The urgency of the climate crisis demands solutions at a scale and pace unlike any other time. But the history and trends in the distribution of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, resulting impacts, and the capacity to adapt and respond to climate change vary substantially across communities and regions. At Climate Interactive, we envision a world where GHG emissions are falling rapidly with equitable policies. While there is a multitude of scenarios that meet this climate goal in En-ROADS, it is crucial that these scenarios are also ones that improve health, equity, and well-being while protecting the climate (known as, multisolving).

Here are 5 tips for bringing justice and equity into En-ROADS events:

1. Make climate justice the focus in marketing and how the event begins

This is basic yet one of the most effective ways, and recommended by many of our En-ROADS Climate Ambassadors. Marketing your workshop as a Climate Justice Workshop with En-ROADS, and starting with a question that puts justice and equity as the locus of the event instead of a subsidiary component is a great start to a deeper dive into the topic. An example of such a starter question would be: “Using the En-ROADS simulator, choose a high leverage solution that is effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and that also improves people’s health and well-being in the near term.” Then have people explain what they chose and why.

2. Show the impacts graphs

The impacts of climate change are (and will be) felt disproportionately around the globe. Referring to the impact graphs in En-ROADS helps people realize how avoiding every degree of warming matters. These graphs include things like:

Sea Level Rise–Flood Risk Map: Search for places and see the impact of sea-level rise
Decrease in Crop Yield from Temperature: See how crops will be impacted
Air Pollution from Energy by Source–PM2.5: Explore which actions best reduce air pollution

These graphs essentially translate otherwise abstract numeric goals (1.5°C or 2°C) to the actual implications in the lives and livelihoods of the billions of people at the forefront of climate change. It can also be a segue to discuss the need for sufficient climate financing, and for strengthening the adaptive capacity of communities that will be hit hardest by climate change impacts.

Unnamed 2 — Figure 2: Graphs in En-ROADS showing significant improvement in air quality (left) and considerable landmass saved (right) by taking actions to limit global warming to 2°C. Access this scenario here.

3. Discuss the cost of energy

As the world races to eradicate energy poverty and meet the growing energy demands of rapidly emerging markets, especially in the Global South, making sustainable energy sources accessible and affordable for everyone will be a daunting task. Some of the potentially high leverage climate solutions such as carbon price when implemented tend to increase the cost of energy significantly and can even aggravate existing inequalities. For example, in this En-ROADS scenario, a very high global carbon price of $150/ ton CO2 will dramatically increase the cost of energy in the next decade before it stabilizes in the latter half of the century. But the net revenue generated (up to 5 trillion $/year) could be used in various ways to help low-income households meet their energy needs and subsidize renewable energy, research and development for new zero-carbon energy sources. Allow your participants to brainstorm ideas that plan to help climate without hurting the most vulnerable.

Unnamed 3 — Figure 3 : Graphs in En-ROADS simulator displaying a sharp increase in energy costs as a result of the very high carbon price ( $150/ ton CO2) implemented globally starting 2022 (left) and net revenue generated from this policy action (right) with ever. Access this scenario here.

4. Don’t overlook land use

Depending on the usage, land can be both a source and a sink for greenhouse gases. Some of the nature-based and engineered land-based mitigation approaches such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and large scale afforestation require vast amounts of land. This raises critical questions relating to the rights of indigenous people, biodiversity, and food security. Encourage your participants to also consider some of the limitations of such solutions. Land for Growing CO2 Removal Biomass graph is often particularly helpful to stir this discussion.

Unnamed 4 — Figure 4 : A scenario of attaining maximum afforestation, BECCS and biochar potential in En-ROADS simulator keeping everything else in the baseline scenario. Access this scenario here.

5. Tailor to the local knowledge and context

A key to facilitating meaningful En-ROADS events is to touch the hearts and minds of participants. For that purpose, it is essential that participants can relate the scenarios and outcomes in the simulator to their day to day lives. We recommend our En-ROADS users spend time mapping out some of the equity and justice considerations relevant to their particular communities and contexts. For example, I am from Nepal, the land of the Himalayas, so whenever I facilitate En-ROADS events here in Nepal, I make sure to explain how every degree of warming impacts our glaciers, freshwater availability, and the millions of livelihoods that depend on mountain ecosystems.

Bonus: There are abundant ways to incorporate climate justice and equity in En-ROADS. Our one-page guide on Equity Consideration for En-ROADS provides ideas for each of the 18 En-ROADS sliders (access it here). Also, check out our En-ROADS User Guide which lists equity considerations for each of the 18 En-ROADS sliders.

Let us know some of your favorite ways of incorporating equity and justice into En-ROADS events!

En-ROADS Impacts: A Closer Look at the Numbers of Participants, Ambassadors, and More!

July 22, 2020 By Bindu Bhandari

It’s been just over half a year since we launched the En-ROADS climate solutions simulator publicly at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid. It took little time for people to pick up En-ROADS and spread it globally to engage people in meaningful conversations around climate change. As of June 2020, 939 En-ROADS events had been held in 56 countries globally. These events mobilized nearly twenty-five thousand participants. The highest numbers of events have been facilitated in the United States, followed by Canada, Germany, Argentina, and Spain. While En-ROADS – our newest tool – has gained the headlines, our long-standing C-ROADS simulator widely known for its use in the World Climate Simulation is still popular, and sometimes even coupled with En-ROADS.

Alongside this growth and impact, our team at Climate Interactive is thrilled to observe the diversity of our facilitators and the audiences coming from all walks of life – professors, business leaders, activists, entrepreneurs, civil society leaders, and beyond. It was our first virtual World Climate Simulation event! At the back of our minds, we kept wondering, what if some participants are unable to join because of a slow internet connection? What if some had never used Zoom before and signing in will be a challenge? What if very few participants attend? We were concerned. However, we were prepared and we were excited.

Among the different ways people are using En-ROADS, events registered suggest that the En-ROADS Climate Workshop is the most popular.

We have held two rounds of the Mastering En-ROADS trainings series this year. These trainings provided a deep-dive into the En-ROADS simulator dynamics along and tips on facilitating events with En-ROADS. Many participants of this training have gone on to become En-ROADS Climate Ambassadors who are a dedicated network of facilitators that are running events all over the world. As of now, our ambassadors come from 35 countries and are facilitating En-ROADS events in 23 languages. 34 of our En-ROADS Climate Ambassadors have facilitated 5 or more events among which the highest recorded number of events is 28 by our ambassador Florian Kapmeier from Germany.

In spite of all the disruptions from COVID-19, the En-ROADS Climate Ambassador network has seen steady growth this year. These Ambassadors have mobilized a significant number of En-ROADS event participants.

22july2020 Enroads Participants By Leads Graph

Comparing the last half of 2019 with the first half of 2020, we saw a 3-fold increase in the number of participants in our online training webinars and workshops. More than 2,000 people participated in the two Mastering En-ROADS trainings series this year.

Overall, En-ROADS has been a tool to empower, engage, and inspire climate action in all kinds of innovative ways. We look forward to so much more in the months and years ahead!

Screen Shot 2020 05 07 At 11.01.34 Am 1 — *A screenshot from the En-ROADS Ambassadors Call in May 2020*

En-ROADS Workshop held in Ghana for Sustainability Week Accra

May 12, 2020 By Bindu Bhandari

Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO) has been delivering C-ROADS simulations across universities and corporate institutions in Ghana for the past 3 years. Following the launch of the new En-ROADS simulator by Climate Interactive in 2019, we are pleased to have organized our first climate simulation in partnership with Sustainability Week Accra.

The first-ever sustainability week in Ghana was held at the University of Ghana, Legon from 2 March 2020 to 6 March 2020. The week-long event included programs ranging from clothing donations to tree planting exercises and presentations. As part of the presentations, there was an En-ROADS simulation workshop held on 5 March 2020 facilitated by Isaac Abugri from Green Africa Youth Organization with about 25 to 30 participants. The workshop started with Isaac explaining the dynamics involved in the En-ROADS simulator to participants followed by two rounds of interactive sessions amongst participants.

The participants were then given 5 minutes to think of actions they have taken in the past month to help in the fight against climate change and reducing global temperature. Their responses included, beach clean-up exercises, planting trees, walking to and from lectures instead of taking taxis, efficient use of electricity by switching off electrical appliances when not using them, etc. These solutions were tested in the simulator and this reduced global temperature from 4.1 degrees to 2.4 degrees.

En-ROADS Workshop in Ghana — *A section of participant during the first round of deliberation*

At this point, participants were happy to know that their solutions, if applied worldwide, will have a positive effect in reducing global temperature since we are thinking globally but acting locally. This was evident in the expression on their faces to know that they were on the right path to help reduce global temperature.

In the next round where participants were asked to think of solutions, aside what they have done already, that will help reduce global temperature further to below 2 degrees, they came out with solutions which included, Carbon pricing, reduction in the use of coal and encouraging the use of more renewables. One suggestion that stirred up more conversation was when one participant suggested less economic growth as a way of reducing global temperature. This she explained that when there is less economic growth, there will be less demand for coal and oil as citizens will not have the capability to buy vehicles, mobile phones and other luxuries which use more oil and coal in the manufacture and use of components.

*Participants engaged in another round of deliberation*

Other participants came out with counter-arguments and one could feel the desire and passion from the participants as they gave their individual opinions on the matter. For me as a facilitator, I also learned a lot from the participants and seeing that there are others who are also in the fight against climate change gave me hope for a better future.

*A participant making a submission on what could be done to further reduce global temperature*

*Isaac Abugri explaining some dynamics of En-ROADS to participants*

After all was said and done, we tested the final solutions on the simulator and we were able to further reduce global temperature to 1.6 degrees. This is what some participants had to say after they suggested that this can be achieved with collaborative efforts rather than individual efforts:

“I feel very happy to know that my efforts, no matter how small is a positive approach to combating climate change.”

Another participant said:

“En-ROADS is an amazing simulator and should be used widely in schools so students can feel they are part of the fight against climate change.”

*A picture with participants after the workshop*

Gaming carbon dioxide removal with young climate leaders

October 15, 2019 By Bindu Bhandari

Blog post by Bindu Bhandari, Climate Interactive, and Viktor Jósa, CliMates

Original post found here

What does it really take to stay well below 2°C global temperature rise as agreed in the Paris Agreement? Could technological innovation help remove historical carbon emissions from the atmosphere? How much will afforestation help? What role could a carbon price play?

These are some of the toughest questions in climate policy. But what if you could test them and see for yourself the impacts of policy and technology on our climate system?

While heads of state and government gathered at the UN Headquarters in New York City, participants in the UN Youth Climate Action Summit took off their activist hats, and role-played 6 sectors that will be key to our climate future: World Governments, Clean Tech, Industry and Commerce, Climate Justice Hawks, Conventional Energy and Land, Agriculture and Forests.

*Young climate leaders roleplay world governments presenting their policy proposals*

They were convened by a fictitious UN Secretary General, Andrew Jones of Climate Interactive, who (with C2G’s help) was running the new game Climate Vision: a model UN roleplaying game on reducing and removing carbon.

The scenario uses En-ROADS, a global climate simulator which allows players to explore how temperature rise is affected by a range of near future scenarios.

Great drama ensued: it turned out that getting to well below 2°C was tough – not helped by groups sometimes fighting over competing agendas!

Alongside traditional mitigation efforts, large-scale afforestation, agricultural soil carbon sequestration, and direct air capture were all proposed as ways to remove CO₂ from the air.

In each case, one thing became clear: there was no silver bullet. In some cases, major interventions, like large-scale afforestation, moved the dial far less than expected. And yet, every bit mattered in reaching the final goal.

*Andrew Jones of Climate Interactive role-plays the UN Secretary General addressing world leaders*

At the end, participants described their feelings: enlightened, threatened, hopeful, frustrated, scared, thrilled.

Mihai Toader-Pasti, Cofounder of EFdeN.org, described En-ROADS as “one of the best tools I have encountered during my nine years as a climate activist. It’s educational not just about CO₂emissions and temperature rise, but also about the social and economic implications.”

Others welcomed an interactive event where they could clearly visualize the gaps in climate action. Some were intrigued by the potential role – alongside other actions – of carbon dioxide removal.

“The full potential of carbon removal technologies to keep global temperatures below 1.5°C have yet to be realized,” said Anna Johnson, Editor, Business Fights Poverty. “So, where did this leave me following the UN Youth Summit event in NYC? Empowered to recognise that we are not without options to turn things around!”

Radostina Slavkova, Energy and Climate Coordinator with Young Friends of the Earth Europe, said: “it was valuable to experience that even some of the most promising and climate friendly measures combined weren’t bringing enough positive change to reach 1.5°C. It became clear that we need all sectors aboard showing at least middle to high ambition.”

Timothy Damon, founder and President, Global Youth Development Institute, said the game offered hope “by concretely illustrating the choices we could make to protect our future against climate catastrophe, while also revealing the scale and complexity of this challenge.”

*Players celebrate finding a mix of policies to limit warming to 1.5°C*

Negotiations underway in the end stages of the SimPlanet simulation. Image credit: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative

C2G, Climate Interactive and other partners are keen to keep this conversation going, by exploring ways to educate and amplify the voices of young people in the governance of climate-altering technologies. If you would like to learn more, please get in touch http://en-roads.org !

ClimateVision roleplaying game was hosted by C2G on September 22, 2019, facilitated by Andrew Jones of Climate Interactive with co-facilitators Bindu Bhandari and Viktor Josa.