For many of us, climate change feels like a distant threat—damage that will happen in the future somewhere far away to people we know little about. A new Stanford University-led study reveals how virtual reality can close that distance, enabling users to explore faraway places, develop a sense of attachment to those places, and care more about how a warming world is wreaking havoc on people's lives.

The findings, published this week in Scientific Reports, show that VR experiences significantly reduce people's indifference to climate change-driven damages in faraway places compared to viewing static images. The findings demonstrate promise for bridging partisan gaps on the issue, and inspiring people to take constructive action, such as supporting pro-environment organizations and policies.

"Virtual reality can make faraway climate impacts feel immediate and personally relevant," said study lead author Monique Santoso, a Ph.D. student in communication at the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. "By helping people form emotional attachments to distant places, VR fosters constructive emotions that motivate engagement rather than paralyzing fear."

From indifference to action
The new study involved 163 Stanford students who were randomly assigned to experience one of nine U.S. locations, such as New York City, Des Moines, Miami, and Massachusetts' North Shore, either through VR or static images. Participants listened to a news story about climate change-driven flooding in that location while virtually flying through a realistic 3D version of it.