Can You Reach Net Zero by 2050?

[a.shwehdy]

Over the last few days, I’ve been participating in a course by ITU Academy on Climate Change and the Mobile Industry. The course is designed for telecom policymakers and regulators, especially in emerging and developing markets, to explore how the sector can respond to the climate crisis in a meaningful way.

As part of our learning, we engaged with The Climate Game, an interactive simulation developed by The Financial Times, in partnership with Infosys, and grounded in real science using models from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the MAGICC climate model.

While the game is not a perfect simulation, it challenges us to make policy decisions, invest in technologies, and balance development priorities, all in the race to reach net zero by 2050. It was an eye-opener and a reminder of how difficult, yet urgent, these choices are.

Try the game here: https://ig.ft.com/climate-game/

I’d love to hear from fellow professionals, especially those working in and with Africa:

• What results did you get?
• What surprised you the most?
• How do you think we can accelerate climate action in African countries?
• What role should telecom, tech, and policy innovation play in this?

Let’s learn from each other, drop your thoughts in the comments section!

[maryomolola]

Thank you for sharing this! I love this game.

I managed to result the global warming to 1.87C, of course, did not get to the desired 1.5C but in line with Paris agreement; I managed to keep the world from melting away. am a firm believer that policies that are not people-friendly are not policy-worthy. This helped me in the game and was likewise my woe in this game. So, you have to know when to call the shot, how long it should be, how wide and when not to call it at all. Policymaking and enacting are not piece of cake and indeed as Thomas Sankara said: Governance is not a rocket science.

To combat climate change, we have to take action NOW; not gradual!