As someone who has spent a significant portion of my life immersed in the world of environmental activism and storytelling, I find myself utterly captivated by the discussions and initiatives that took place during Climate Week. The Green Amendment movement, championed by Maya van Rossum, resonates deeply with me as it aligns perfectly with my belief that every individual has a right to a healthy environment.
During the same period as the United Nations General Assembly, New York City hosted Climate Week – a vast, dispersed event series. In 2021, it expanded to over 900 events happening throughout the city from September 22nd to the 29th. This year, notable figures from Hollywood, including Matt Damon and Benedict Cumberbatch, as well as sustainability leaders at Netflix, NBCUniversal, and Paramount Global, were actively involved. They participated in discussions, speeches, screenings of films, and even a vegan hot dog truck (courtesy of Rainn Wilson).
The conference also introduced the first-ever Climate Film Festival, during which a total of 59 movies such as “Ecocide,” “Farming While Black,” “Hot & Toxic,” and “The Wild Robot” were screened over a span of 3 days. Additionally, wildlife filmmaker James Honeyborne delivered the opening speech.
René Jones, head of social impact at UTA, shared with The Hollywood Reporter that Climate Week serves as a hub for various topics and is always enlightening. She’s been attending since its beginning. In recent years, Jones noted a significant increase in the entertainment industry’s participation at Climate Week.
THR was circulating within the social scene, attending gatherings, engaging in conversations with Hollywood figures, and staying updated on the current jargon regarding tackling climate change issues.
Monday, Sept. 23
Inspiring Thought for Today: “Around the year 2019, it struck me that I had deep concern over climate change and its consequences, but my actions were limited to the occasional fiery social media post.” – Rainn Wilson
Notable Encounter: Three-time Emmy nominee Wilson, who is featured in the 2023 production of “Lessons in Chemistry,” attended the bustling Climate Week opening cocktails hosted by UTA and its leader René Jones at All & Sundry bar and bistro. This well-known figure, who is also an activist, has recently established a new charitable organization, Climate Basecamp, which he characterizes as a “climate communications group” aiming to influence the “undecided demographic.
Wilson stated, “We aim to connect with millions of young, often bewildered voters who are feeling overloaded and uninterested. They believe change is out of reach. To achieve this, we plan to engage them through various means – in-person interactions, social media, videos, humor, and the arts. We want to employ storytelling to make climate science more relatable and integrate it into mainstream dialogue. Earlier that day, I was the main attraction at a event where food trucks handed out free vegan hot dogs, creatively named after climate change facts like ‘Oil companies have known about climate change and its devastating impacts since the 1970s.’ The catch was, you had to request your hot dog by its complete name to get it.
Climate Basecamp – an organization co-founded by sustainability expert Dr. Gail Whiteman, who is also part of Arctic Basecamp – has recently initiated a campaign titled “Save the Flavors.” This project highlights how the global climate crisis poses a threat to popular crops like coffee, chocolate, vanilla, pistachios, mangoes, and coffee. As Wilson explained, “Many people may not care about climate change, but they certainly care about their favorite flavors such as chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, mango, and coffee.
Phrase of the Day: “Climate Change Misinformation.” Journalist Amy Westervelt from Drilled, a captivating podcast about the origins of climate change denialism, used this term to describe how the fossil fuel industry has intentionally confused the public discourse on climate change in order to prolong their release of harmful carbon emissions into the environment. At a discussion held at the DGA New York Theater titled “The Mad Men of Big Oil,” Westervelt explored various industries’ use of PR and misinformation strategies to advance their economic interests. Joining her were writer Josh Gondelman (Desus & Mero, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), comedian Yamaneika Saunders, and journalist Juan Manuel Benitez. Westervelt noted that despite progress in addressing climate change, there is still a significant amount of misinformation spread, such as denial, delay tactics, promoting false solutions, and downplaying the severity of the issue. She referred to this environment as “a severely distorted and polluted information ecosystem.
Additionally, THR dropped by Meta’s New York headquarters, where the organization initiated a sequence of Climate Week launch discussions, inviting attendees such as Dan Bragg and James Levitt from EarthxTV network. Notable speakers included John Osborn, head of Ad Net Zero (an organization guiding advertising companies towards sustainability), and Blair Swedeen, Meta’s director of net zero and sustainability, who discussed their use of AI to develop stronger, lower-carbon concrete mixes. This innovative concrete has been utilized at Meta’s data center campus in DeKalb, Illinois.
Tuesday, Sept. 24
Today’s Inspirational Thought: “I dream that our grandchildren will no longer exclaim, ‘We are finally free!’ Instead, they will say, ‘We have finally broken free from fossil fuels.’ This vision echoes the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr., adapted for the climate crisis, at the Forbes Sustainability Leaders Summit.” – Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., a climate activist and leader.
Notable Appearances: Benedict Cumberbatch attended a gathering at The Plaza Hotel, organized by Bloomberg Philanthropies, where he revealed the 15 finalists for the Earthshot Prize – an initiative jointly established by Prince William and Sir David Attenborough that offers funding to innovators addressing critical environmental issues. Accompanying him was his wife, theater director and playwright Sophie Hunter, who has recently premiered a new art installation titled “Salt of the Earth“, highlighting the global decline of salt marsh habitats. During his speech, Cumberbatch expressed his backing for the U.K.’s Green Rider campaign. He elaborated that by including an environmental clause in contracts, actors could ensure that climate action is prioritized both on set and screen throughout the entire production process. This would involve collaboration with agents, sustainability experts, and identifying key areas needing improvement to develop effective, scalable solutions, ultimately driving progress within the industry from studios to guilds, unions, and academic institutions.
Matt Damon, an actor and philanthropist, joined Gary White, his Water.org partner, on stage at the Plaza for a discussion about the organization’s achievements in providing clean water to global populations through microloans. As of now, Water.org has assisted approximately 69 million people. At a later event, the Forbes Sustainability Leaders Summit, Damon spoke further about Water.org. He pointed out that more than 98% of their loan recipients repay their loans. Damon emphasized that this approach is not just about solving problems for charity cases, but rather viewing people as individuals, customers, and citizens. It’s about demonstrating that when you guide the market in their direction and step aside, people are eager to solve their own issues.
Today’s Phrase: “Nature-Based Carbon Credits” – a particular form of carbon credits, which companies like Netflix are increasingly utilizing as part of their strategy to meet their decarbonization objective of reducing emissions by half by 2030. In an interview at Solutions House (one of the numerous event venues that emerged during Climate Week in NYC), Netflix’s sustainability officer Emma Stewart explained that they prefer nature-based carbon credits because they “preserve and rejuvenate nature, which I see as the original climate technology. It has been maintaining our climate for us for thousands of years, often at no cost,” Stewart added. “So far, we have invested a substantial amount of money and carbon volume – carbon credit volume – into restoring natural ecosystems in various countries like the U.S., Brazil, Chile, India, and the Sundarbans regions. Often, these investments are made in areas where communities are vulnerable, who might otherwise be compelled to exploit the land for firewood, logging, or conversion to ranching or agriculture. Carbon market revenues from these credits enable them to maintain the land. In essence, it compensates them for being guardians of the land.
At Solutions House, Stewart attended a conversation led by Sam Read, who is the executive director of the Sustainable Entertainment Alliance. The topic was “Sustainable Film and TV Production” and it delved into how entertainment firms are minimizing their carbon footprint during content creation, such as the collaborative effort between Netflix and Disney from last year to partner with suppliers in swapping diesel generators for cleaner energy sources. Panelists included Mari-Jo Winkler, executive producer of “True Detective: Night Country”, who spoke about the series’ stringent sustainability standards, Audrey Vinant-Tang, senior director of sustainability strategy at NBCUniversal (who is striving to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 and has already reduced emissions by 30% since 2019), and Caroline Winslow from climate tech accelerator Third Derivative. Other panels centered on environmental narratives, which aligns with the Sustainable Entertainment Alliance’s recently expanded focus on promoting climate-themed stories across the industry.
At a later time, James Honeyborne unveiled a preview of his eagerly anticipated documentary titled Our Oceans at Solutions House. This documentary is set to debut on Netflix in November, with Barack Obama serving as its narrator.
In a recent interview, Honeyborne revealed that the five-part series took approximately five years to create, involving a global team of 700 individuals. We submerged ourselves beneath the sea for roughly 4,000 hours, capturing images of over 1,000 diverse marine species. Our filming locations ranged from the depths of both poles in the ocean, and we are currently writing over 20 scientific papers based on our discoveries. Honeyborne aspires that this series will use captivating cinematography to inspire viewers to appreciate and empathize with the underwater realm.
Wednesday, Sept. 25
Inspiring Thought for Today: “Many will label occurrences as ‘natural disasters.’ However, we believe that the words we use carry significance, and there is nothing ‘natural’ about these events.” – Chris Kocher, co-founder of Extreme Weather Survivors, an organization highlighting the personal impact of climate change. During Climate Week, they gathered individuals who have either survived or lost family members due to extreme weather conditions such as intense heatwaves and floods.
Spotlight on Stars: Adam Met, a member of the music group AJR who is also an environmental activist teaching climate activism at Columbia University, addressed the New York Times’ Climate Forward conference regarding the eco-conscious endeavors undertaken by his band during their concert tour. “At every venue on the summer leg of this tour,” said Met, founder of the nonprofit organization Planet Reimagined, “our fans had chances to participate in climate activism. It was direct civic and political engagement at each location. We provided opportunities, through collaborating with local organizations, for people to register to vote, verify their voter registration, sign petitions about a local issue, and even make phone calls on site.
Phrase of the Day: “Green Amendments” – At an Earth Law Colloquium in TriBeCa, Kevin Schneider, counsel with the Earth Law Center and former executive director of the Nonhuman Rights Project, along with Maya van Rossum, leader of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, debated strategies for safeguarding both nature (from animals like apes and elephants to water bodies such as rivers) and people. Van Rossum, who is also the author of the 2017 book The Green Amendment: Our Right to a Healthy Environment, advocated for expanding green amendments or environmental rights amendments across the nation, a movement backed by actor Mark Ruffalo. As of now, three states have such amendments, including Pennsylvania (established in 1971), Montana (1972) and New York (which added to its constitution in 2022 with the statement “Every person has a right to clean air, water, and a healthy environment”).
Thursday, Sept. 26
Inspiring Thought for Today: “Transformation truly originates within culture, and no transformation can occur without a cultural shift. The method to achieve this is through narratives… A fascinating discovery is that you merely need to persuade around 25% of any specific group or audience to embrace your proposed change, and they will spearhead the transition.” – Jennifer Strachan, CEO of story-focused nonprofit Cinereach, at The Impact Lounge, United Nations.
High-Profile Figures in Preview for Series: Although they weren’t physically present, celebrities such as actor Forest Whitaker, media personality Van Jones, Maggie Baird (founder of Support + Feed and mother of Billie Eilish), model and entrepreneur Sabrina Dhowre Elba (wife of Idris Elba), among others, were featured in a sneak peek trailer for the upcoming series Turning Point. This series aims to spotlight the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, specifically goals like eradicating poverty, promoting sustainable consumption, and achieving gender equality. Peter Glatzer, filmmaker behind the series and co-founder of SHFT with Adrian Grenier, explained, “We’re focusing on finding the right people and telling their stories in a way that doesn’t feel like preaching or lecturing. Instead, we want the audience to see themselves reflected in these films and take action.” Additional speakers at The Impact Lounge, an event hub for influencers and content creators dedicated to uniting change-makers, included political scientist Ian Bremmer of Ground Zero Media (interviewed by Film at Lincoln Center president Lesli Klainberg) and Boaz Paldi, the chief creative officer at the United Nations Development Programme.
In the evening, at Civic Hall downtown, Wilson showcased his new Climate Basecamp storytelling nonprofit during a series of events lasting a week. This presentation took place at the nighttime program for Reassembly, a climate-focused conference organized by Regeneration VC, a venture capital firm investing in climate tech and backed by Leonardo DiCaprio. Addressing the audience, Wilson emphasized the vastness of Climate Week’s scope, acknowledging that attendees were tackling various aspects of it, such as carbon sequestration, plastic-eating bacteria, renewable resources, legislation, international cooperation, nonprofit management, corporate leadership, and voter registration. He underscored the enormity and all-encompassing nature of climate change, emphasizing that each facet was crucial and overwhelming in its importance.
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2024-10-01 21:27