While video games themselves do not directly influence climate change, some promote ecological awareness and encourage environmental responsibility. Whether presenting the players with scenarios where green choices are rewarded or confronting them with desolate visions of environmental collapse, games can act as sources of information and engage players in the current climate crisis and its potential consequences.
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    Ecological cities

    Cities, where nearly 60% of the World’s population currently live, use vast quantities of energy and suffer the worst consequences of pollution. Often far removed from the natural resources that feed and support them, city residents face significant challenges when trying to transition to a more viable, environmentally-friendly lifestyle.
     
    City-building simulation games, such as Global City, City Skylines, and Tropico, incorporate features that encourage players to construct green buildings and implement sustainable policies like eco-friendly taxation, recycling programs and green transportation. These games imagine future cities with advanced technologies like green skyscrapers, solar power stations, vertical gardening and rainwater harvesting.

    World governance

    Playing out on a larger scale, Fate of the World is a strategic video game that places the player in control of Earth's future. Released in 2011, the game revolves around climate crises, and the player must make various decisions that determine the planet's trajectory, leading either to positive or negative outcomes. The game requires players to balance multiple dimensions, including natural resources management, economic growth, technological innovation and political and social stability.

    Worst-case scenarios

    Some video games depict dystopian or post-apocalyptic scenarios, like The Last of Us and Horizon: Zero Dawn. These games depict worlds profoundly transformed by catastrophic environmental events, whether due to a fungal outbreak or the dominance of intelligent machines. Humans are close to extinction, and what is left of nature has reclaimed human-built environments, resulting in desolate landscapes and decaying structures. Players navigate through these transformed worlds, engaging with dangers and facing survival challenges.
     
    Video games can immerse players in worlds where they either actively shape future scenarios, observing the impact of sustainable decision-making, or bear witness to the nightmarish consequences of inaction.