UN launches world’s biggest survey of public opinion on climate change

Today, celebrities and youth activists met with UN officials, governments and civil society to launch Mission 1.5, a campaign that aims to bridge the gap between people and governments on ambitious climate action.

Mission 1.5 aims to give 20 million people around the world the opportunity to have their say on ways to limit climate change that they want to see adopted by government leaders. 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.

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.

In Ghana, as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, by increasing access to distributed renewable technologies and energy efficient management practices to address climate emergencies, UNDP is currently partnering with Government of Ghana under the National Clean Energy Access Programme (NCEP). The programme aims to operationalize collaborative approaches under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement.

UNDP is also working with Government to build the capacities of the private sector to develop low carbon bankable projects and increase private sector investment potentials for Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions targets in the energy sector.

Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator, said: “Together with partners from across the private and public sectors, we have the ability with this campaign 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.”

Gita Welch, acting UNDP Ghana Resident Representative said, “Mission 1.5 is a very significant addition to the climate fight, especially in this decade of action. It has the unique potential to empower citizens to complement the work that UN, the government of Ghana and other stakeholders are already doing to combat climate change “.

The Mission 1.5 game is available at https://mission1point5.org/  and can be played by people in every country in the world.