Twenty million people around the world will have their say on climate change as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launches Mission 1.5 campaign launched by the today.

Built around an online and mobile-based video game, the campaign is covering all regions, including Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and offers an easy and engaging way to learn about solutions that help stop climate change. Mission 1.5 also aims to bring citizens and governments together for ambitious climate action. 

"UNDP is capitalizing on the unprecedented climate movement that is taking place on the streets and echoing loudly into business boardrooms. Mission 1.5 will give us vital insights into how citizens think the climate transition needs to happen. And these will represent a valuable source of hard evidence for governments and others to act now,” said Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, the Regional Director of UNDP in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Developed by UNDP alongside experts in game development, climate science and public polling, the Mission 1.5 game lets players take on the role of climate policymakers and make decisions 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 views on climate action. This gap between global citizens and their governments has already seen a groundswell of public opinion around the world, including school strikes and mass protests. 

In the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, climate change is happening with unprecedented speed and intensity, threatening economic growth and development progress. In the last three decades alone, climate-related disasters such as floods, droughts and melting glaciers have caused 50,000 fatalities, affected nearly 25 million people and resulted in over US$80 billion in damage.

In addition, 88 per cent of the region’s energy supply comes from fossil fuels, while economies are two- to five times more energy-intensive than in most European Union (EU) countries. Carbon emissions, which declined across the region after the fall of the Soviet Union, are on the rise again as economic growth continues and farming, transportation and energy needs increase. In Southeast Europe alone, greenhouse gas emissions are forecasted to double between 2015 and 2030.

Most of the region’s countries have signed the Paris Agreement and prepared climate commitments, known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs. However, these national pledges must be more focused and ambitious to lead to a substantial reduction in emissions, UNDP has pointed out.

2020, when countries are revising their climate pledges ahead of the UN Climate Conference, COP26, is a turning point for achieving a breakthrough in climate action. Mission 1.5 is one of the tools to bring all voices at the table and let citizens tell their government leaders about the concrete ways to limit climate change that they want to see adopted. 

Starting from 13 February 2020, the Mission 1.5 game is available at Mission1Point5.org and can be played by people in every country in the world.   

About Mission 1.5 

Mission 1.5 was developed by UNDP and partners as an online platform that educates people on climate action and connects them with their governments and policymakers. The campaign is called Mission 1.5 because we must act now to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.  

For more information & campaign updates:

Mission1Point5.org / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter

Media contact:

Nicolas Douillet, UNDP Communications Advisor for the Regional Center for Europe and the CIS, nicolas.douillet@undp.org