The movie on climate change that I would like to watch….

Have you watched the latest documentary on the climate crisis that was released on Netflix few weeks ago?

It is call Breaking Boundaries, and it is a highly informative 104 minutes’ movie, featuring some of the most well-known climate scientists and environmentalists in the world.

It very well explains the planet boundaries theory, how humanity have pushed the natural environment to the tipping point and feedback loops have already started, making some of the changes irreversible and unstoppable.

Then, for the last 15 minutes, it gives some hope, and it calls to individual action and lifestyle changes as a key part of the solution.

Does it sound familiar? 

Well, if you have read some books, listened to podcasts, or watch other documentaries on climate change, you are likely to recognise the pattern as it is very similar in most of the contents that are produced on the subject.

Do not take me wrong, the situation we find us in is alarming at the best, and it is rapidly escalating to catastrophic. So, anything that helps raising awareness about the challenge in front of us and the herculean effort required to overcome it, is welcomed and needed.

However, I would love to see a change in narrative about climate change, or at least the development of some alternatives to the standard script used so far.

More and more climate change related contents are being created (movies, documentaries, TV shows, daily news, podcasts, books/audiobooks), reaching an audience that would have not being exposed to this type of information and level of details before, and this is a great opportunity. 

And although I don't fully agree with the idea that everyday lifestyle choice are ultimately the source of the problem or the path to a solution to climate change, I do certainly believe that the power of the mass is essential in shifting private and public sector priorities and accelerate the system change that has somehow already started.

So, what this alternative narrative could look like? For me it is about shifting the story from how bad things are today and how big the challenge ahead is, to how exciting the future can look like.

Just for a second, let’s forget the struggle, let’s leave aside the image of natural disasters, destroyed ecosystems, let’s remove any sense of hopeless and negativity from our minds, and instead let’s focus on how beautiful, different and exciting our everyday life can look like in 30, 40 or 50 years, for us and for generation to come. 

I would love to see a movie that tell about the future, showing how cities have been transformed, noise pollution disappeared from our life, air is clean, wildlife and nature are back into the urban environment, communities are closer together and sharing for the common good is a standard and not the exception. A movie on how we live a healthier life, how we are happier than ever before because we live a more balanced life, we are connected to nature, and we have time for the things that matter. I would like a movie that tell us what amazing food we are going to eat, how tasty and diverse it is going to be, and I would like to see what new skills we have acquired, and how technology have improved so many different aspects of our everyday life.

Is it a utopic view of the future? It may be. But the reality is that we are capable of radical change at a global scale when we focus minds and resources, if anything, that is something that we have learnt in the last 12 months.

The narrative on climate change has been the same for the last 15 years or longer, and although I don't believe that we are lacking public consensus about the science, the problem, or the challenge ahead, I do think that the lack of passion and positivity about the future is a cause of inaction today. And in this time and age, a Netflix documentary has more power to shift hearts and minds than the most accurate and peer-reviewed study in the world.

As usual, I would love to hear your opinion: How does your ideal movie/book on climate change look like (and do you have any to recommend)?