Examining United Nations VR Content Production Usage of Experiential Media in Climate Change Storytelling: A Qualitative Analysis

Abstract

Existing literature indicates the vast potential of VR in climate change storytelling, including VR’s role in increasing pro-environmental behavior, knowledge gains, and climate actions. This study, from a qualitative standpoint, seeks to explore uses of VR in climate change communication by particularly examining how the twelve United Nations VR content production produced as part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) utilize experiential media (EM) in climate change storytelling. The study also explores how such VR production frame and contextualize climate change issues; whether the VR productions take a multidisciplinary approach similar to the IPCC 2018 special report; and what dominant themes such UNVR productions highlight pertaining to climate change.