UN LAUNCHES OWN VIDEO GAME

The United Nations is launching its very own mobile video game to help young people engage with climate change, according to Euronews.

The idea is to capture the attention of 'Gen Z' to protect the ozone. 'Reset Earth' is set in 2084, in a post-apocalyptic world where the ozone layer has been completely ruined. Three teenagers are teaming up to save the planet.

"I think it's important that the younger generation realise that they can make a difference, they can make a change, they can bring about change, even if some of these environmental issues that are currently on the table seem insurmountable," says Stephanie Hay Smith, from the UN's Ozone Secretariat.

The game is one of the latest attempts to harness the power of the fastest-growing media platform in the world, as there are more than 2 billion video gamers globally. A report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)'s in 2019 found that this was a medium which could engage billions, encouraging them to find solutions to social and environmental challenges.

Once this report was published, the UN decided to expand further to reach external game production companies and to mobilise them to take initiative.

The aim was to get them to add green elements to their games and to make sustainability pledges.

Today the 'Playing for the Planet' Alliance has almost 30 members, including the production companies behind the games Angry Birds, Assassin’s Creed, Subway Surfers and Transformers: Earth Wars, who have all committed to introducing environmental messages into their games.

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