Submitted
2022 Solv[ED] Youth Innovation Challenge

Effective Climate Action Project (ECAP)

Team Leader
Luna Abadía
Solution Overview
Solution Name
Effective Climate Action Project (ECAP)
One-line solution summary.

Bridging complex climate data sets and public understanding through simulation workshops and youth engagement.

Elevator pitch
What is your solution?

ECAP harnesses two core solutions: facilitating climate simulation workshops, and engaging youth with online advocacy.

Our climate workshops connect people with tools to explore how climate solutions can be approached from a systemic level. We run three workshops: the “World Climate Simulation,” the “EN-ROADS Climate Workshop,” and the “Climate Action Simulation.” These interactive, role-play experiences harness computer models called EN-ROADS and C-ROADS, designed by MIT Sloan School of Management and Climate Interactive. These models use the latest climate science to analyze how different policy measures such as renewable energy, afforestation, electrification, carbon prices and more, impact our current global warming trajectory. ECAP’s youth facilitators train to interpret and communicate this information in an easy-to-understand way for audiences from middle school students to policy makers.

To shift public focus to effective climate solutions, our global team researches and shares weekly action items as part of our “Take Action Tuesday'' campaign. Through infographic posts and online events, we elevate climate opportunities, organizations, and information. ECAP’s advocacy tackles climate change at its source, addressing root causes and harnessing systems thinking and collective action to boost individual impact.

What specific problem are you trying to solve?

Climate change impacts every human on the planet. Our organization works specifically to combat the lack of public focus on systemic solutions. We are often told that to solve climate change, we need to recycle, take shorter showers, plant trees, etc. While these actions are helpful, there is a great need for solutions tackling the root causes of the issue. By equipping people with tools to understand these solutions, grounded in science, technology, and policy, we can empower others to stand up for ambitious climate action.

Public awareness regarding systemic climate action is insufficient in part due to the lack of comprehensive systemic climate education and the inaccessibility of climate science and leadership spaces for youth. According to data ECAP compiled in our 2021 Global Climate Change Survey, 85% of youth are “not at all” or only “somewhat” satisfied with their school’s climate curriculum. Commonly stated reasons behind this were teachers' focus on the issue versus the solutions, and lack of educational opportunities to engage in more impactful change-making, such as policy, entrepreneurship, and direct activism. For those with the opportunity to study climate science, youth often find it hard to draw tangible action items from scientific data, and thus don’t know where to start. At a time when we need as many people as possible in climate leadership, these barriers result in less youth voices involved in climate decision-making, and less opportunity for empowerment across all ages.

Who does your solution serve? In what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Our solution serves anyone ranging from middle and high school students to business leaders and policy makers who are curious about engaging in climate action. For these audiences, we teach key dynamics and equity considerations of the climate system, and provide people with the experience of advocating for policies to solve a global issue. Our workshops have helped those who knew little about climate policy and global negotiations begin advocating in their own communities. We have also trained youth from the United States, the Netherlands, the Philippines, and Indonesia to become climate simulation leaders, bringing these workshops to their local schools and organizations. We strive to be decentralized and accessible by hosting the majority of our workshops online. We can facilitate in English, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese and Korean.

An important aspect of our youth engagement has been facilitating our ECAP Internship Program. We reviewed hundreds of applications and conducted over 40 interviews to gather our existing team of 10 interns from 7 different countries. Each takes on a role of their choosing, including research, graphic design, event planning, partnership engagement, and workshop facilitation. We have given our interns experience working in a youth-led organization through weekly meetings, skill-building workshops and trainings. By equipping people with the tools to understand climate solutions grounded in science, technology, and policy, ECAP believes we can empower others to stand up for ambitious climate action.

What steps have you taken to understand the needs of the population you want to serve?

ECAP has conducted significant research in order to understand the needs of youth, the barriers preventing them from engaging in climate leadership, and what motivates and concerns them about the issue. Our 2021 Global Climate Change Survey surveyed 233 individuals worldwide and helped us make the decision to start our internship program after finding that 40% of youth are very motivated to take more action on climate change but only 3% are very involved. 

In the development of our project, I met with leaders from the nonprofit Climate Interactive to introduce the idea of training youth to be facilitators of their workshop methodology. We also interviewed two local Oregon legislators to ask about where youth voices are most needed to help advocate for environmental policy. 

I have received mentorship from T-Mobile executives through an Ashoka Changemaker award, my Environmental Justice teacher, a leader of a local climate education non-profit, and staff from Plan International USA, an organization I volunteer for as their climate lead on the National Youth Advisory Board.

We engage past workshop participants in the development of our organization through our ECAP Volunteer community, where we extend opportunities for training and engagement, and provide a Take Action Resource document listing effective climate solutions anyone can take part in. We also engage our workshop facilitators in the development of existing and future workshops by letting them create their own ECAP workshop slideshows, and provide feedback on ways to improve the experience and impact.

Which aspects of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
  • Taking action to combat climate change and its impacts (Sustainability)
Our solution's stage of development:
  • Growth: An organization with an established product, service, or business model rolled out in at least one community, which is poised for further growth
Explain why you selected this stage of development for your solution—in other words, what have you accomplished to date?

ECAP is in the "Growth" stage because we have solidified our mission and workshop offerings, gathered a team and members, and had two years of experience providing our services to others. So far, ECAP has facilitated 20 climate simulation events engaging hundreds of participants worldwide, with audiences spanning local classrooms, Rotary groups, Model UN groups, and business leaders. We have grown to 300 members and trained youth facilitators through our Climate Simulation Leader (CSL) training program. On our social media platforms, we have engaged hundreds of followers with 60+ informational posts on a variety of climate topics, such as presidential climate plans, ways to effectively talk about climate change, global youth movements, and more. As ECAP's founder, I was selected as a US Official Delegate and Facilitator for the 16th United Nations Climate Change Conference of Youth in Scotland during COP26, where I presented a workshop on Systemic Climate Education and ECAP's strategy in engaging youth through the EN-ROADS computer model. At this stage we are now focused on expanding our capacity and reach.

Where our solution team is headquartered or located:
Portland, OR, USA
Team Lead:
Luna Abadía
More About Your Solution
About Your Team
Your Business Model & Resources
Solution Team:
Luna Abadía
Luna Abadía