Part of the Global Collaboration Village, leaders can now come together in the metaverse to experience and solve the deepening effects of the climate crisis.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has launched an immersive Polar TippingPointsHub— an immersive, virtual-reality space in which global leaders can gather tocraft solutions to address the pressing issue of climate tipping points. Thepurpose-driven platform — part of WEF’s virtual Global CollaborationVillage — will provide a forumin themetaversefor innovators and decision-makers to solve the deepening effects of the climateand nature crises, particularly those located in the polar regions.
The launch of the hub coincides with the annual summer sea ice extentminimum in the Arctic, which adds atimely emphasis on the pressing need to address polar warming and climatechallenges.The ability to simulate the tipping points at different temperatures in realtime could help drive faster decision-making.
"Breaching the planetary tipping points will bring dire consequences for theinterconnected ecosystems that support life on our planet,” said Gim HuayNeo, Managing Director and Head ofthe Centre for Nature and Climate at the World Economic Forum. “By understandingthe drivers and impacts, the global community can respond more effectively tothe climate and nature crises. Through collective action, business andgovernment can innovate, mitigate and adapt to the risks associated with globaltemperature rise and the resulting tipping points in the polar regions, andbeyond.”
Highlighting the urgency of polar warming
Image credit: Accenture
Human-induced warming, as the world approaches and surpasses a 1.5°C increase,is edging dangerously close to triggering several critical polar tipping points.Among the 16 climate tippingpointsidentified by the Potsdam Institute for Climate ImpactResearch,six are in particularly precarious states — even with temperature rises below2°C. Five of these tipping points are located in the polar regions, encompassingboth the Arctic and Antarctic. The interconnectivity, orteleconnections,between regions means many seemingly disparate tipping points are bonded —so, this situation has global implications.
The nexus of polar tipping points, with the potential to disrupt interconnectedEarth systems, can lead to stability challenges across geographies. Thisincludes the albedo effect, whichrelates to the reflectivity of surfaces. High albedo reflects more sunlight,while low albedo absorbs — which impacts both climate and temperature. Thewhiteness of the snow and ice layer reflects heat away from the Earth andprevents it from warming the oceans and land (including permafrost) even more;but this albedo effect is declining due to polar ice and snow loss.
There is also a long-term, linear relationship between carbon dioxide emissionscaused by human activity and Arctic sea icedecline— which means that, as emissions increase, sea ice will continue to decline. Thedecline is already accelerating global vulnerabilities such as extreme weather,heat stress, compromised food and water security, climate migration anddisruptions in supply chains.
An evolving platform for visualization and collaboration
The Global Collaboration Village — a WEF metaverse where organizations canconvene to learn about, create solutions for, and take action on the world’smost pressing challenges —launchedin 2022 in partnership with Accenture and Microsoft. Within it, thePolar Tipping Points Hub offers an immersive experience that allowscollaborators to visualize the ramifications of polar warming on Earth'sintricate systems. Through a monitoring station, visitors gain a deeper insightinto three of the five pivotal polar tipping points that become precarious iftemperatures rise by 1.5°C or beyond.
The Hub will serve the dual purpose of enhancing awareness and facilitatingcross-sectoral collaboration among Village partners and existing Forumcommunities. The hub is a work in progress, continually incorporating new datato ensure it remains at the forefront of polar and climate research;collaboration on new and combined data sets from Arctic Basecamp, NASA,the National Snow and Ice Data Center, and other institutions has beeninstrumental to the development of the hub.
Partnering for a resilient future
The Polar Tipping Points Hub launch aligns closely with the WEF's commitment toaddressing global challenges through concerted initiatives. Enabling virtualimmersion into the polar regions will illustrate current warming trends and theconsequent cascade of risks, offering a vital tool for comprehending the urgencyof unified action.
"The ability to connect and collaborate in shared immersive spaces, spanningdistances and devices, can inspire team creativity and outcomes that mayotherwise not have been possible," said NavjotVirk, VP of MicrosoftMesh. "The Global Collaboration Village'sPolar Tipping Points Hub demonstrates how people can leverage immersiveexperiences built on Microsoft Mesh technology to see and better understand thecomplex and interconnected challenges of global issues, like climate change."
As of now, the Global Collaboration Village is comprised of three main areas:
A town hall: The WEF’s “Virtual Congress Center” for future sessions ormeetings such as plenaries, workshops and bilaterals.
Collaborative centers: Virtual collaboration spaces for immersivestorytelling intended to inspire collaboration, experiential learning andreal-world impact on global issues. For example, in addition to the PolarTipping Points Hub, there’s an OceanHub in whichparticipants can dive into the ocean’s depths and explore why and how marineecosystems must be protected to preserve both life on land and in water.
Stakeholder campuses: Forum Partners can shape their presence, convenetheir stakeholders, and partner with others to innovate and find solutionsto global challenges.
WEF says it will continue to invite organizations to build in these immersivespaces to further bolster learning, collaboration and partnership. Theinitiative’s aim to strengthen and re-energize international cooperation isguided by four principles:
global cooperation toward shared solutions;
interactive immersion to foster better understanding;
broad participation enabled by inclusive discussions; and
individual and collective action as a catalyst for maximum impact.
"At the World Economic Forum, our central mission is to convene stakeholders forcollaborative problem-solving, to improve the state of the world,” said RebeccaIvey, Head of the Global CollaborationVillage. “The Village democratizes this process by using immersive technologiesthat enable us to achieve more together, even across distances. Our aim is tomake these tools accessible to diverse audiences, amplifying their potential tocontribute to the betterment of the world. "
Published Sep 19, 2023 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST
Sustainable Brands Staff
