Overview

The En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator is a fast, powerful climate simulation tool for understanding how we can achieve our climate goals through changes in energy, land use, consumption, agriculture, and other policies. The simulator focuses on how changes in global GDP, energy efficiency, technological innovation, and carbon price influence carbon emissions, global temperature, and other factors. It is designed to provide a synthesis of the best available science on climate solutions and put it at the fingertips of groups in policy workshops and roleplaying games. These experiences enable people to explore the long-term climate impacts of global policy and investment decisions.

En-ROADS is a global climate simulator that allows users to explore the impact of roughly 30 policies—such as electrifying transport, pricing carbon, and improving agricultural practices—on hundreds of factors like energy prices, temperature, air quality, and sea level rise. 

Developed by Climate Interactive, the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative, and Ventana Systems, En-ROADS is a system dynamics model carefully grounded in the best available science, and has been calibrated against a wide range of existing integrated assessment, climate, and energy models. En-ROADS runs on an ordinary laptop in a fraction of a second, is freely available online, offers an intuitive user-friendly interface, and is available in over a dozen languages.

En-ROADS helps people make connections between things they care about and the possibilities available to help ensure a resilient future. Users can quickly see the long-term effects of the global climate policies and actions they imagine. The goal? To break through the noise and equip elected officials, business leaders, and others with the knowledge they need to implement equitable and high-leverage climate solutions. You can learn more about the science behind the simulator here.

Experiencing En-ROADS changes how people think about climate change and how they feel about it at a visceral level. In government offices around the world, in classrooms and corporate boardrooms, we have seen how testing alternate scenarios motivates users to step up and take action. More than 300,000 people in 85 countries—including more than 130 members of the US Congress—have taken the time to use En-ROADS. Beyond the numbers, peer-reviewed studies have demonstrated that those who engage with En-ROADS are empowered to take action, with a strengthened connection and improved understanding of climate issues.

En-ROADS is being developed by Climate Interactive, Ventana Systems, UML Climate Change Initiative, and MIT Sloan.

How to Use this Tool

En-ROADS can be used individually online, but it is most often used as part of a facilitated group learning experiences: the En-ROADS Climate Workshop, the Climate Action Simulation game, or the En-ROADS Guided Assignment. These interactive events help participants gain key insights from the simulator, adopt new perspectives, and build grounded hope in a fun and engaging format. These experiences can be offered either in-person or via online platforms, and all materials are free.

Training

Join an online training to learn more about En-ROADS, which cover climate and energy system dynamics, interdisciplinary climate solutions, advanced facilitation tips, and more.

Managing Organizations

Climate Interactive

The biggest challenges facing our lives on Earth are made up of complex, interconnected parts. People need better ways to understand the full picture.

That’s why we’re here.

Our team at Climate Interactive helps people see what works to address climate change and related issues like energy, water, food, and disaster risk reduction. For example:

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