Climate Countdown maps out what people are actually doing to TACKLE THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE.
we break this complex issue DOWN into bite-sized bits, SO IT'S accessible and easy to understand.
catch up on season 1 by following us to cop21 THEN join us for season 2 as we explore what strategies we need to keep climate action moving forward now that the u.s. has decided to leave the paris agreement.
ABOUT
SEASON 1 IS ONLINE NOW
In 2015, with COP21 in our sights and setting out from a place of little knowledge, the Climate Countdown team launched a quest for climate solutions.
SEASON 1 MAPPED out what policy makers, activists, scientists, and citizens were actually doing to make 2015 a game-changing year for the climate crisis.
We worked to understand this complex issue by breaking it down into bite-sized bits with the help of post-it notes and conversational language, keeping every episode accessible and fun. Filmed across seven countries, we talked to citizens and experts in New York, DC, Boston, Baltimore, Bonn, Beijing, Bristol, Milan, Marrakech, and Paris. Sixteen episodes, a handful of awards, a cohort of new climate friends, and a historic Paris Agreement later, we are prepared to launch our next season.
SEASON 2 IS CURRENTLY IN PRODUCTION
After being in Paris to witness the signing of a landmark global climate agreement, it seemed like the momentum for climate action was unstoppable – and then the US had an election. Now the Trump Administration has announced that the US is pulling out of the Paris Agreement and the very concept of climate action seems at risk across America. But there are climate heroes everywhere and we want to tell their stories.
Season 2 will ask: since the U.S. government is leaving the Paris Agreement, what strategies will move climate action forward before it's too late?
In Season 1, we were counting down to COP21 and signing of the Paris Agreement. Now we are in a different, and more urgent, kind of countdown. From the global climate negotiations at COP22 in Marrakech to 200,000 people marching for climate, jobs and justice in Washington DC to citizen lobbyists building relationships with Republicans on Capitol Hill to activists calling for carbon pricing during "Teach Trump" protests at Trump Tower in New York City, Climate Countdown has been on the ground to capture these stories of climate solutions. When the stakes are this high and the challenges this great, we need to be more strategic about our solutions than ever. Each episode of season 2 will tell a story of how people are strategically taking on the climate challenge by: taking it to the courts, taking it to the streets, taking it to the cities, taking on partisanship, taking it to the people - all to keep building the momentum for climate action.
SCREENINGS
Our episodes have been used as teaching tools in colleges across the US and screened at the World Bank, COP22 in Marrakech, Columbia University, University of Maryland, Yale University, University of Bristol in the UK, Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara Film Festival in Mexico, and Le Cinema Colise in Morocco. We have a solid network of followers on social media, with over 1,300 likes on our Facebook page and some of our videos reaching over 17,000 views.
At the end of 2016, our episode from Season 1 on Carbon Pricing won the Put a Price on Carbon Pollution Award for Best Short Film from the World Bank as part of the global Film4Climate competition. Climate Countdown was then awarded Best Web-Series at Lake View International Film Festival in India and Best Short on the Beach at Barbados Independent Film Festival - it has also been chosen as an official selection by Green Screen Film Festival in Trinidad & Tobago, Awareness Festival in Los Angeles, ROMA Cinema Doc Festival in Italy, Baja Webfest in Mexico, and Ekotopfilm | Envirofilm Festival in Slovakia.
While still in early days of production, Season 2 has started making the festival rounds. Our 'Taking it to the Courts' post-it sized short has won the Gold Trophy at Deauville Green Awards, the Silver Award at Handle Climate Change Film Festival in Shenzhen, China, an Honorable Mention at Berlin Flash Film Festival, and took home the award for Best PSA at Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival. Episodes from Season 2 have also been chosen as an official selection at AAB International Film Festival and at Direct Short & Documentary Film Festival.
