8 documentaries on climate change you need to watch now

Coronavirus is at the centre of the minds of all, understandably. However, with a key UN summit set to take place in Glasgow in October, analysts have warned that 2020 is the year in which the world desperately needs to scale up its environmental efforts to avert irreversible harm. Here are eight must-watch documentaries to improve your climate IQ while self-isolating at home, which will help you keep up to date on the steps needed to save the future of our world.

Posted On November 30th, 2020

An Inconvenient Truth (2006)

In 2006, with a data-driven presentation on the importance of climate change, former Vice President Al Gore dumped An Uncomfortable Reality on the planet, branding the need to fix its human-made causes as a spiritual and ethical issue. He followed that up with a sequel ten years later, and they're all worth the time. Although it just offers facts (like the hottest years on record and ocean temperatures) before 2005, An Uncomfortable Reality gives a sense of how long we have been having this debate, the superficial actions that politicians have taken or not and the anger over our leaders' lack of consideration. The film explains the underlying science behind global warming, makes clear the connection between the levels of CO2 and the increase in global temperature, and hammers home the fact that today's levels and those expected by scientists are well outside the normal cycle of the Planet.

The True Cost (2015)

The True Cost 2015 documentary will change the way you think about your clothes and most notably, how they are made. Following the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in 2013, which killed 1,134 employees, in countries such as Bangladesh, India and Cambodia, director Andrew Morgan set out to explore both the human and environmental expense of quick fashion. The filmmaker also talks to some of the best-known environmentalists in beauty, including Stella McCartney and Livia Firth, who advocate for immediate industry reform.

RiverBlue (2016)

In the 2016 RiverBlue documentary, Fashion's water-pollution crisis is illustrated, which reveals how the chemicals used in the manufacture of our clothes have disastrous consequences on rivers in China, Bangladesh and India, which the local people living there can no longer use safely. "One of the most memorable quotes from the documentary comes from Orsola de Castro, co-founder of Fashion Revolution: "There is a joke in China: they believe that by looking at the colour of the water, you can guess the it" colour of the season.

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014)

The link between climate change and the livestock industry has not always been so evident, although veganism is certainly on the rise. Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Mystery, a documentary created by Leonardo DiCaprio, shows filmmaker Kip Andersen asking why nobody was talking about the topic back in 2014. Despite criticism over some of the arguments made in the video, the film has had a strong role in making people aware of the environmental effects of beef.

Before the Flood (2016)

In Before the Storm, DiCaprio took his conservation project a little further, standing in front of the camera this time. From deforestation in Indonesia due to the palm oil industry to melting ice in Greenland and the Arctic, the star and UN Messenger of Goodwill spent two years studying both the causes and consequences of climate change around the globe. The film culminates with DiCaprio delivering a rallying speech on Earth Day 2016 at the United Nations, addressing world leaders: "You are Earth's last best hope."

Our Planet (2019)

Look no further than Sir David Attenborough's Our World if you need a reminder of why nature needs us to counter the climate crisis. The eight-part Netflix series looks at how biodiversity around the world is influenced by global temperature increases, from flamingo chicks in Africa to lowland gorillas in the rainforest of Congo. It comes after Attenborough's Blue Planet II (2017) surprised audiences by revealing how plastic from the ocean and rising water temperatures harm our aquatic life.

This Changes Everything (2015)

"Following her 2014 bestselling book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate, Canadian author and social activist Naomi Klein produced a documentary that asks the question: "What is the best chance we will ever get to create a sustainable future if we confront the climate crisis? Klein highlights the relation between our economic structures and the challenge facing our world after visiting frontline communities impacted by climate change, including those on the south coast of India and the Athabasca oil sands in Alberta, Canada.

2040 (2019)

An optimistic view of the future in 2040 is set out by Australian filmmaker Damon Gameau, dreaming what the planet will look like in 20 years if we embraced the technologies and thinking now available to reduce the carbon present in our environment. This means providing almost 100% clean electricity, electrifying our transport networks, switching to regenerative agriculture and sequestering emissions. Gameau calls it "fact-based dreaming," something for which we will all certainly get on board.