Actor changes his name to Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Weather Wilson as climate protest

The actor Rainn Wilson says he has changed his name to Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson to protest against the climate crisis.

In a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday, Wilson said: “as a cheap little stunt to help save planet Earth, I’ve changed my name on Twitter, Instagram and even on my fancy writing paper.” It is not clear if Wilson has legally changed his name.

As for why, he said: “I changed my name … to help tell the world leaders and influencers that we need to act now.”

The star of The Office (US version) has changed his display name on Instagram but not his username. He has not changed either on Twitter, where he said: “PS They won’t let me change my name because, Elon!”

He suggested alternate names for other notable figures in the entertainment industry, including “Cardi The Arctic B Melting”, “Amy Poehler Bears Are Endangered”, “Harrison Why Not Drive An Electric Ford”, and “Leonardo Di-Polar Ice Caprio Are Melting”.

Wilson is a board member of Arctic Basecamp. He said their mission “is to raise awareness of the global risks of Arctic weather change.” The effort to mobilise people to change their names is being launched as world leaders gather for Cop27 in Egypt.

In a statement, he called on others to log on to “ArcticRiskName.org and create a name that will bring attention to this problem. Then – and this is the important part – change your social media profile or display name to match your new ArcticRisk name. If enough of us do this, then maybe Cop27 will be where our world leaders sit up and notice Arctic risks and introduce a solution.”

The conference comes after stark warnings from climate scientists. Last month, a UN report found there was “no credible pathway to 1.5C in place”. Research from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, published in September, found five dangerous climate tipping points may already have been passed due to the global heating caused by humanity to date, including the collapse of Greenland’s ice cap, with another five possible with 1.5C increase of heating.