How Can We Meet the World’s Growing Energy Needs
While Ensuring a Just and Sustainable Future?

This is the driving question behind the Powering the World Simulation – a policy simulation designed to support those shaping the future of energy systems, from public sector leaders to private sector innovators. This immersive experience provides a unique opportunity to deeply engage with the complexities of energy transitions and sustainability transformations, and explore the balance between urgent climate action and global equity.

A High-Stakes Energy Crisis

Powering the World Simulation takes place in the near future during an escalating climate and energy crisis. Participants act as members of a multi-party task force advising the European Comission.

Each represents a political party with distinct values and priorities. Together, they navigate research-based, plausible future scenarios that mirror the complex dynamics of the global energy transition.

Equipped with role-playing materials and expert insights, participants engage in real-time negotiations, making tough policy choices with far-reaching global consequences.

They navigate conflicting interests and complex trade-offs to craft novel policy ideas that balance urgent climate action, social equity, economic stability, and global cooperation.

By blending storytelling with strategic negotiation, Powering the World Simulation brings to the forefront real-world dynamics of change, in a collaborative setting where creativity, empathy, and systems thinking are key.

Powering the World At

The Powering the World Simulation was part of the Sustainability Research and Innovation (SRI) Congress, the world’s largest annual gathering focused on sustainability. SRI 2024 brought together experts from various disciplines to tackle urgent global challenges, fostering collaboration across sectors and regions.

The Powering the World Simulation aligned with the Congress’s mission to drive policy innovation and accelerate climate resilience, offering participants a unique opportunity to engage with real-world energy transition challenges.

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POWERING THE WORLD SIMULATION WAS FUNDED BY

AND DEVELOPED THANKS TO THE EXPERTISE OF

Policy Simulations

Policy simulations, also known as policy exercises, are processes in which participants collaborate to immerse themselves in complex scenarios that mirror real-world issues, requiring policy decisions. The Powering the World Simulation demostrates how immersive, interactive policy simulations can help tackle urgent global challenges. By stepping into the roles of key decision-makers, participants experienced firsthand the complexities of energy transition, navigating competing interests and systemic obstacles.

As a stakeholder engagement tool, policy simulations:

Enable participants to co-create future pathways and explore system change
Reveal the interconnections between environmental, economic, social, and political factors
Provide insight into policy resistance and strategies to overcome it
Foster dialogue across diverse backgrounds, helping to co-develop inclusive policy solutions
Combine serious problem-solving with engaging, hands-on learning

The discussions sparked in the Powering the World Simulation continue to inform policy and research on energy transition and climate resilience. To explore how policy simulations can support decision-making in other contexts, visit our website

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