Playmob/PlanetPlay Lead Delegation of Games Studios at UNDP Climate Promise Event

During Earth Week, 22nd April 2024, GREAT partner Playmob's CEO Jude Ower (recently acquired by Sphaira Innovation and PlanetPlay) and PlanetPlay CEO Rhea Loucas led a delegation of games industry studios to the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Climate Promise event at UN HQ in New York – an initiative to support countries as they increase their climate action contributions.

Climate Promise 2025 – organized by UNDP Global Director of Climate Change, Cassie Flynn, and introduced by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner – marked the beginning of a campaign of renewed efforts on climate action across the UN System ahead of 2025, a critical year as countries enter a new 5-year cycle of commitments to limit global warming.

During the event, Loucas and Ower facilitated a specially-convened roundtable at UNDP HQ, along with SYBO CEO Mathias Gredal Nørvig leading the conversation from a studio perspective, and Cassie Flynn leading with climate change expertise, with a focus on the Climate Promise.

The roundtable was a unique and precious chance for the UNDP and the games industry to discuss the Climate Promise face-to-face. Participants included representatives from Bolton University, The Danish Trade Council, JSA, PlanetPlay, Playmob, Riot Games, SYBO, Tilting Point, The Raine Group, Unity and Xbox.

Among the topics addressed were the challenges being faced by developing countries as they adapt to a warming planet, and how the games industry can make a positive contribution to keeping the earth below the 1.5 degrees threshold set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.

This included how games can amplify the Climate Promise message by mobilizing player communities, including via in-game activations, surveys, green narratives and more.

Supporting the games industry in mobilising players to speak up on climate policy globally, is the EU funded GREAT project, which provides scientific underpinning and proving the methodology that games can be a highly effective platform for climate policy making.