In July 2023, as the world experienced its hottest day, week, month, and year in recorded history, UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared that “the era of global warming has ended” and “the era of global boiling has arrived.”1 The world is not acting quickly enough to respond to the pace of climate change. As NASA climate scientist Peter Kalmus observed, “we are losing Earth on our watch.” We are living through a crisis that touches every aspect of our lives, and therefore has a place in every contemporary story. Today, films set in the present or near future that do not include climate change can be considered what they are: fantasy. But there are too few studies examining whether popular films reflect our climate reality. This gap in knowledge prevents us from understanding climate visibility and represen- tation in popular entertainment, as well as the related challenges and opportunities. The Climate Reality Check, a Bechdel–Wallace Test for a World on Fire, pro- vides audience members, screenwriters, filmmakers, studios, and researchers with a straightforward way to evaluate whether climate change is represented—or omitted—in any narrative.3 This two-part, binary evaluation tool is simple, illuminat- ing, and powerful.

The landscape and demand for climate stories are shifting. For a very long time, the conversation around climate change and the environment has been led by circles of scientists and policy and law makers with artists, storytellers, and BIPOC communities being largely absent from the conversation until recently. Independent film is breaking the cycle of the dominant film industry voices that have controlled which stories are told (and not told), how they are told, and who gets to tell them. Stories are helping to humanize and depoliticize the issue of climate change, providing complex and nuanced perspectives to audiences and building bridges over once-polarizing waters. The independent film industry is helping pave the way for a more environmentally aware and engaged future, but there’s still work to be done.

Inform, imagine, act. Not Too Late is a project to invite newcomers to the climate movement, as well as provide climate facts and encouragement for people who are already engaged but weary. Its goal is to offer good news, perspectives, voices, connections to people, as well as good paths forward for the climate and those who care about it. Not Too Late uses three steps to engage people: Inform—make sure you're reading beyond the horrifying headlines; fill yourself with the real facts about where we're at. Imagine—take time to imagine what the world could like; imagine what your city/town could look like if there was healthy air and strong communities. Act—to really build change at the scale we need requires us to act together; find a climate organization in your town/state/nation and get involved.

The Climate Collection displays many posters that depict some aspect of the climate crisis—from artists around the world. (They’re pretty awesome!) This resource came out of a global open call that sought digital illustrations targeting climate change, with a focus on hope and solutions. The outstanding work of a total of 50 Selected Artists and 46 Finalists has been chosen to join The Climate Collection under an open license. The project received 2,222 submissions by 1,432 artists from 95 countries.

Environmental justice is central to tackling climate change. This interactive map identifies toxic facilities in Texas, giving each county an environmental justice risk score. The results indicate that communities of color are bearing the brunt of pollution. The map includes an option for Texans to add their personal stories.

The effect of watching the film Don’t Look Up was polarizing. For Democrats who watched it, they become 1% more supportive of immediate government action on climate. But for Republicans, they became 15% LESS supportive. Independents became 9% MORE supportive.

Use visual images to make climate change feel real and immediate. This blog post offers tips on what types of visual images are best at educating audiences about the problem and engaging them on solutions. These include: know your audience, use real people not stock images, tell new stories about climate change, avoid shaming individuals, and couple disturbing images with something positive.             

Consider using virtual reality to convey the reality of sea-level rise. In three coastal communities, VR simulations of sea-level rise were found to do a better job than conventional maps in helping people visualize projected impacts. Residents familiar with the locations had especially strong emotional reactions to the images shown during the simulations. This study also finds that it is important to involve local residents in the planning and promotion of virtual reality simulations of sea-level rise.             

Listen to the youth. This montage of some of the 400 short films submitted for annual youth filmmaking challenge is an urgent call for climate justice. Speaking in plain language and using simple-yet-creative graphics, these youth offer a fresh perspective on the climate crisis. Many of their messages are about what can be achieved through working together. Their honesty, directness and positivity have the potential to compel a wide variety of audiences to join them.             

The SENSES Toolkit is a collection of visualization tools that explore a variety of climate change and clean energy scenarios scenarios including:

• Closing the Emissions Gap: How current, global decarbonization plans match up with the long-term targets of the Paris Climate Agreement
• The Role of Land for Food Production and Climate Protection: How current land-use practices accelerate climate change
• Net-zero Pathways for Industrialized Countries: Simulations that outline possible pathways to net-zero emissions by 2050 for the US, EU, Japan, and Australia

In addition to the scenarios, the toolkit includes practical guidelines of how to use climate change scenarios for three key user groups: policymakers, the financial sector, and regional audiences.