WEF Polar Metaverse, Tipping Point Hub

In an old factory office in Rotterdam, the non-profit organisation Arctic Basecamp works tirelessly to raise awareness about the global risks of climatological changes happening in the polar regions. The team may be small, but they work with global organisations such as the World Economic Forum (WEF) who launched the Polar Tipping Points Hub, a groundbreaking virtual reality experience in collaboration with Accenture and Microsoft, yesterday at UN Climate Week in New York City. 

Arctic Basecamp played a crucial scientific role to make this hub come to life. Their team of Arctic experts and scientists have provided valuable scientific data and insights that have been instrumental in the development of the hub and used to guide people through the experience. Additionally, a substantial number of data visualisations from their online Arctic Risk Platform (that curates the latest data and science to show how the world is affected by climatological changes in the Arctic) have been incorporated into this immersive experience. 

The Polar Tipping Points Hub, situated within the Global Collaboration Village, is a critical tool for raising awareness about the impending climate crisis. Using virtual reality, it highlights the urgency of polar warming, as it can result in unlocking multiple polar tipping points. The immersive experience shows the audience how unlocking these tipping points will have far-reaching consequences on global ecosystems. 

Professor Gail Whiteman, founder of Arctic Basecamp, expressed her long-standing dedication to raising awareness about Arctic warming: "We have been striving for over a decade to bring the poles into the agenda of people of power, and this project marks a significant milestone for Arctic Basecamp. 

“Our Arctic Basecamp team is proud to have contributed valuable scientific data and insights that have been instrumental in the development of the Polar Tipping Points Hub. Through our Arctic Risk Platform, we have provided a wealth of data that enhances the immersive experience of the hub. We believe that by raising awareness of rapid changes in the poles we can encourage bold climate action and highlight the urgent need for scalable solutions to address climate change.”

As the world grapples with the urgent need to combat climate change, the launch of the Polar Tipping Points Hub during UN Climate Week is a timely milestone. This virtual reality experience, made possible by the collaborative efforts of the World Economic Forum, Arctic Basecamp, and other esteemed institutions, demonstrates a commitment to addressing global challenges through concerted efforts. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and scientific expertise, the hub aims to inspire action and drive solutions that can mitigate the risks associated with Arctic warming.

Julian Oggel, Chairman of the Board of Arctic Basecamp added, “As a Board member of Arctic Basecamp, I am deeply grateful  to witness the impact of our collaborative efforts in bringing Arctic warming and polar change to the forefront of global consciousness. The Polar Tipping Points Hub represents a remarkable achievement, and it exemplifies the power of partnerships and innovation in addressing the critical challenges of our time. By using cutting-edge technology and scientific expertise, we are amplifying the urgency of polar warming and inspiring collective action to safeguard our planet's future."

Back in Rotterdam the team is now gearing up to attending the Arctic Circle Assembly in Iceland in October and their flagship event at the World Economic Forum’s  Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2024 – where they take a real polar research tent and sleep in smaller tents in the snow - all to ‘speak science to power’ and raise awareness of the global risks resulting from a rapidly changing climate.

Professor Gail Whiteman added, “We may be a small team, but we have big ambitions. Our approach is to cut through the barriers and deliver science in ways that surprise and impact people in new ways.”

Previous Arctic Basecamp campaigns include bringing a real iceberg from Greenland to the UNFCCC’s COP26 in Glasgow, and the viral Arctic Risk Name Generator where US Office actor and Arctic Basecamp Advisory Board Member, Rainn Wilson changed his name to Rainfall Heatwave Rising Sea Levels Wilson to raise awareness on the global risks of a rapidly warming Arctic. Over 100,000 names were generated in just 72 hours and the campaign achieved worldwide news coverage.

For more information, features and interview inquiries, please contact:

Fleur Dassen, Communications Officer, Arctic Basecamp

Email: fleur@arcticbasecamp.org

Phone: +31639037244

Helen Clay, Communications Director, Arctic Basecamp.

Email: Helen@arcticbasecamp.org

Phone: +44 7837913280

Please find data visualisations, previous campaigns, headshots and images of Arctic Basecamp please visit our online newsroom Polar Tipping Points Hub - Press Kit (prowly.com)

Arctic Basecamp is a team of Arctic experts and scientists who ‘speak science to power’ in order to encourage bold climate action. Professor Gail Whiteman created Arctic Basecamp as a vehicle to bring this message of global risk from Arctic change to global leaders. They work with global scientists and world-class organisations and individuals to raise awareness of the global risks from Arctic change and to highlight the urgent need for scalable solutions to climate change. Their flagship event is at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos where their Arctic Basecamp tent is an established feature. The tent has also pitched at COP26, Glastonbury Festival and the Arctic Circle Assembly. In 2022 Arctic Basecamp launched the Arctic Risk Platform (arcticrisk.org) to empower decision-makers across the globe, from policy makers to businesses, with science-based knowledge about the risks of Arctic change. It is a registered not for profit in the Netherlands.

Professor Gail Whiteman is an expert on global risk arising from the systemic changes occurring in the natural environment, the founder of Arctic Basecamp and Professor of Sustainability at the University of Exeter’s Business School (UK).

Since 2012, she is the Professor-in-Residence at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.  She is a past member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Frontier Risk and was a scientific keynote speaker at WEF’s 2020 session at Davos "What's at Stake: The Arctic," alongside panellists including Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Former US Vice President, Al Gore.  In 2023 she was also a panellist and speaker at the WEF session in Davos – Unpacking the Polar Crisis.

Professor Whiteman is an experienced moderator at events including Reuters Impact in 2022 and the World Economic Forum in Davos. She is actively involved in building science-based targets collective business action, including those for a future low-carbon economy. Her research utilises organisation theory on information flows to analyse how a range of actors (companies, civil society, and local communities) make sense of ecological risk, and how these actors transform and build resilience across scales given environmental pressures and social inequities.

She has over 60 peer-reviewed scientific papers, including in prestigious journals Nature, Nature Communication, and the Academy of Management Journal. Her PhD is from Queen’s University and her field work was conducted in the subarctic region of Canada.  She is regularly interviewed by the press and in 2023 launched a new Reuters series – Arctic Warning alongside Reuters Editor-at-Large, Axel Threlfall.  You can follow her @GenerationCO2

Having previously worked as a maritime lawyer since graduation from university in 1994, Julian Oggel changed career in 2009. Since then, he has acted as the director for a Rotterdam-based investment firm, as well as the managing director of Novatug BV, a company that developeduses innovative towage technology to address the current challenges in shipping maritime infrastructure with a nature-based solution. 

The Polar Tipping Points Hub will form part of the Global Collaboration Village which will be launched fully at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2024. It allows visitors to visualize the consequences of polar warming on Earth's intricate systems. It also serves as a platform for cross-sectoral collaboration among partners and existing World Economic Forum communities, continuously incorporating new data to remain at the forefront of polar and climate research. By combining data sets and utilizing live simulations of the tipping points at different temperatures, this initiative offers the potential to accelerate decision-making in the face of climate change.

The hub is revolutionizing the way we understand the impacts of polar warming. Visitors to the hub put on virtual reality goggles and engage with different interfaces, allowing them to walk around and interact with the immersive experience. By showcasing the latest scientific data and insights, the hub offers a compelling visual representation of current warming trends and the cascade of risks they pose. This innovative approach enhances understanding and fosters collaboration among industry players and investors, encouraging collective action to address climate challenges.