The VR video by UNEP and Sony Playstation, which is available on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCu9rZvXRLg&feature=youtu.be) aims to create global awareness on climate change
To enhance global awareness on climate change and its impact on the environment, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has collaborated with Sony PlayStation to develop an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience that demonstrates a climate change-friendly lifestyle.
The VR video, created using the DreamsTM platform, aims to show viewers how an individual’s carbon footprints resulting from his/her lifestyle can affect the environment in the long run.
The video can be viewed via YouTube in a 360-degree format to enable viewer interaction on desktops and mobile devices. It will also be available on Earth School, an online education platform developed through UNEP’s collaboration with TED-Ed.
“COVID has brought unprecedented disruption to how we live our lives, but now as we move out of lock-downs, we have an opportunity to develop new habits that can keep us within the safe limits of a 1.5 degree world.
“We hope that this ‘virtual reality check’ will show people how beautiful and possible these new lifestyle choices are,” said Ligia Noronha, Director of UNEP’s Economy Division in a press statement released on 29 June 2020.
The collaboration is among the first initiatives of Sony’s partnership with UNEP via its gaming and digital entertainment division, Sony Interactive Entertainment, in exploring various means of educating the public on environmental issues through the use of gaming and VR.
“Gaming reaches a huge audience worldwide, and has the power to inspire social change,” said Kieren Mayers, Director of Environment and Technical Compliance at Sony PlayStation in expressing Sony’s support for the initiative.
Sony is a member of the Playing for the Planet Alliance which was launched in 2019 with the support of UNEP. Comprising game companies including Microsoft, Google and Ubisoft, the Alliance strives to support companies in sharing learning and monitoring progress on the environmental agenda.
