Climate challenge: the video game

In the tradition of Sim-Earth and Civilization, Oxford University and Red Redemption bring you "Climate Challenge," a game of global leadership in an environmentally hazardous age.

The BBC is hosting the online game, in which you play the president of Europe. Climate Challenge gives you ten turns (each representing 10 years time) to steer your government successfully through this century.

Each turn, you need to set policies for your government in the areas of National Policy, Trade Policy, Industry, Local Policy, and Household Policy. You must balance popular opinion, as well as your finances and energy, food, and water needs. You also must address CO2 output, and there are periodic negotiations for setting emissions targets (like your own mini-Kyoto round) for your own country, as well as encouraging other parts of the world to participate.

The game takes some balancing and doesn't lay out a clear and easy path. You can't simply go in and choose all the greenest policies without regard to the popularity of those policies. Too much stick and not enough carrot, and you'll get voted out of office. But, if you don't take the necessary steps, you will end up not dealing with energy needs and global warming and other problems

A very fun as well as educational product.