Channel 4 issues ‘Climate Emergency’ brief to indies

12 May 2022

Follow up to commitments agreed as part of The Climate Content Pledge made at COP26

Following the commitments laid out in the Climate Content Pledge at COP26, Channel 4 has issued a brief to independent production companies as it seeks to commission high-impact shows intended to inspire audiences to engage with the international climate emergency.

The cross-genre brief calls for indies to submit ideas for hopeful, provocative and irreverent content that will energise and empower audiences to live sustainably and to engage with the global conversation on climate change.

Recent commissions including Joe Lycett Vs the Oil Giant and Celebrity Trash Monsters demonstrate the type of show genre commissioning heads are after, but the brief is open for all genres to interpret. 

Ian Katz, Channel 4 Chief Content Officer commented: "Climate change is, quite literally, the burning issue of our age but sadly often makes for rather eat-your-peas television. We're looking for ideas that are inventive or audacious enough to make our viewers sit up and think about what they can do to help solve the problem - and ideally empower them to actually do something about it."

The brief can be found here: https://www.channel4.com/commissioning/channel-4-climate-emergency-brief

ENDS

Press Enquiries:  Susan Wilks swilks@channel4.co.uk

Notes to Editors

• The Climate Content Pledge – announced at COP26, twelve of the UK’s biggest broadcasters pledged to use their content to educate audiences about the climate crisis.  
• Convened by Albert (the BAFTA-affiliated organisation promoting cross-industry collaboration to encourage environmental sustainability in the screen industry) the Pledge aims to help audiences to understand what tackling climate change might mean for them, as well as inspire and inform sustainable choices.