Reimagining Climate Action with FeliX ISE: Insights from Scenarios Forum 2025
In mid-July 2025, Leeds welcomed the forward-thinking Scenarios Forum 2025, dedicated to exploring societal and climate futures through integrated assessment models (IAMs). On the evening of July 17, during the poster session in Sports Hall 1, Ryan Yi Wei Tan of IIASA presented the poster titled “FeliX ISE: An Interactive and Participatory Tool for Exploring Behaviour Change Scenarios in the Food System.” The work, integral to CHOICE’s Task 3.4, was co-authored by Filippos Marntirosian, Deepthi Swamy, Nikolaos Tantaroudas, and Sibel Eker, and was aimed at reaching an audience of academics, facilitators, educators, and NGOs.
What Is FeliX ISE?
FeliX ISE (Interactive Simulation Environment) builds upon the robust FeliX model, a global system dynamics tool developed by IIASA, designed to simulate complex interactions among population, economy, energy, land, food, climate, biodiversity, and more.
Originally, FeliX model captures the dynamic feedback loops that characterize Earth systems, calibrated to data from 1900 to 2020 and projecting trends through to 2100. In the CHOICE project, this foundation is expanded to model behavior-driven food demand scenarios, by incorporating cognitive, social, environmental, and socioeconomic factors that influence dietary shifts.
FeliX Interactive Simulation Environment (ISE) goes beyond modeling to create an online, interactive interface that allows all users to explore behavior change scenarios in real time. The tool divides the population into lifestyle categories based on empirical data, estimating the likelihood of adopting low-carbon food behaviors such as reduced waste or alternative protein choices, and modelling the environmental outcomes of those behavioral shifts.
IIASA leads in developing this ISE as a bridge between the FeliX model and stakeholder engagement. It supports bottom-up scenario development, enabling diverse actors, from policy advisors and educators to industry stakeholders, to co-produce plausible climate mitigation pathways with clarity and inclusivity
Significance in the CHOICE Project
FeliX ISE exemplifies CHOICE’s goal of integrating actor heterogeneity and behavioral science into IAMs, making climate models more relevant, participatory, and policy-oriented.
By enabling exploration of diverse demand-side mitigation strategies, FeliX ISE contributes to improving transparency and stakeholder involvement. Its interactive nature supports learning, dialogue, and informed decision-making across scales—from classroom exercises to community workshops
Highlights from the Conference Poster Session
The FeliX ISE poster was presented on Thursday, July 17 at 18:00, during the official poster session at Sports Hall 1 of the University of Leeds. The event brought together a diverse audience, including academic researchers, facilitators, educators, NGOs, and scenario developers working at the intersection of climate and societal futures.
Ryan Tan’s presentation sparked strong interest from attendees, who engaged in thoughtful conversations around the tool’s potential to democratize access to integrated assessment models. Participants noted the clarity and responsiveness of the interface, its ability to accommodate diverse mental models, and its usefulness in fostering participatory dialogue. Many highlighted its relevance for teaching, policy design, and public engagement—particularly in contexts where behavior-driven change is critical to climate mitigation.
Looking Ahead
As the CHOICE project moves forward, deploying FeliX ISE in pilot regions—Austria, Greece, Colombia, Spain, and South Africa—will be essential. The tool promises to enhance sustainable food system strategies by enabling scenario-based exploration of diet shifts, waste reduction, and adoption of alternative proteins with real-world relevance.
Whether visualizing the climate impact of dietary choices or engaging stakeholders in policy co-creation, FeliX ISE embodies CHOICE’s commitment to turning rigorous modelling into meaningful action.
Find the presented poster here and explore the initial version of FeliX ISE at the https://climatechoice.github.io/felix/ to understand how individual behaviour changes in the food system can influence climate outcomes and stay tuneδ for more updates.
