TV industry urged to increase messages promoting climate consciousness

Over the last few months, climate change has been the topic on everyone’s lips. But just how often do we see the solutions to it on our screens?

A report, released by the Home of the Brtish Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) and the onlince carbon calculator Albert, has revealed how often terms related to climate change are currently mentioned on TV.

Glaciers have been melting at an alarming rate/ Image Credit: Nick Russill via Flickr

The report, released on 15 May, was the result of the analysis of data between September 2017 and 2018. The data, analysed by Deloitte, was gathered from four broadcasters, representing 40 channels and 128,719 distinct programmes.

The report was announced by both BAFTA and Albert, ‘a collaborative BAFTA, indie and broadcaster backed project that provides the film and TV industries with the necessary expertise and opportunities to take action on environmental sustainability’.

According to BAFTA, Deloitte investigated ‘how often words associated with five key sustainability terms were mentioned: Food, Travel, Resources, Climate Change and Energy’.

Climate Change has been causing extreme weather across the globe/ Image Credit: Global Water Partnership from Flickr

In its investigations, Deloitte found that the issues contributing to climate change were mentioned more frequently than any ‘solutions’.

Pippa Harris, Chair at BAFTA said: “The TV industry’s call to address climate change is clear. Reducing our impact is a given, but our real opportunity lies in the programmes we make, and in our ability to use powerful human stories to connect audiences with the world around them.

“We need to understand the links between climate change and society, and act strategically to ensure we do everything in our power to avert the climate crisis. Though it may seem that our future has been taken from us, history is still being created. It is time to write a different script and share it with the world.”

We have become used to seeing the devastations of global warming and climate change on our screens/ Image Credit: CAPRA Initiative from Flickr

A number of people involved in the television industry have since spoken out about the results. Lynette Huntley, Chief of Staff at Channel Four said: “This fascinating piece of research will help us identify what more we can do to challenge perception and inspire change around sustainability”.

Originally published at https://www.thenationalstudent.com.