Climate Crisis Documentaries To Reassure & Inspire You

The launch of Seaspiracy on Netflix this week has brought a new audience to the conversation about the Climate Crisis, as the latest in a series of eye-opening documentaries that demonstrate just how unsustainable our current way of life has become.

Yet, it also makes it clear how we can change for the better – how we can take personal responsibility for a more ethical lifestyle, and how we can force reluctant corporations to fall in line before it is too late (we currently have less than seven years to avert the worst outcomes of the Climate Crisis).

To help inspire you to act on the Climate Crisis, and reassure you that we already have the solutions at our fingertips, we present a spoiler-free list of our favourite documentaries that pave the way towards a better, more sustainable world.

We hope that these will be enjoyable viewing, and welcome your suggestions via our @IrishEVs Twitter account.

The Biggest Little Farm

Run Time: 1h 31min
Where to watch: Watch on DVD or on-demand

If you have not yet watched The Biggest Little Farm, or you feel overwhelmed and daunted by the Climate Crisis, this is the place to start.

This is a wonderfully hopeful documentary that follows a couple as they embark on their dream of creating a truly sustainable farm where they work in harmony with nature to minimise human intervention.

The brilliance of this documentary is that you learn along with the protagonists, as they turn an arid dustbowl into a luscious farm and how nature always provides a solution if you only allow it to work its magic.

The film is also set against the backdrop of raging forest fires on the California coast, which have increased in regularity and intensity due to the Climate Crisis. It is an incredible visual metaphor that really drives home the message of sustainability.

This is the blueprint for the future of farming – working in harmony with nature, supporting natural cycles that put more back into ecological systems than we take out, and benefitting the land rather than exploiting it.

We cannot recommend this film highly enough.

I Am Greta

Run Time: 1h 37min
Where to watch: Multiple options to watch online

Few people (if any) have played a more prominent role in thrusting the Climate Crisis into the public consciousness.

She has inspired climate action worldwide, started a protest movement that has given voice to young people who fear for their futures, and called out politicians and corporations on their consistent inaction on the Climate Crisis.

I Am Greta tells the story behind her inspiring movement – from the frustration of meeting glad-handing, tone-deaf politicians, to the terror of crossing the Atlantic in a racing boat, and the vital role her family plays in supporting her.

This film will help you understand her dedication like never before, as it demonstrates the hardship of a teenage girl taking on the world in the most sustainable way possible, and will inspire you to do more.

Who Killed The Electric Car

Run Time: 1h 32min
Where to watch: Watch online

While most people think that the modern electric car revolution started in 2010 with the launch of the Nissan Leaf, few remember that General Motors launched an electric car back in 1996 – or that they killed it just a few years later.

Who Killed The Electric Car looks at the development of the GM EV1 – the first mass-produced electric car – and the role that car companies and oil corporations played in suppressing this technology in order to increase their profits.

While the documentary from 2006 looks a little dated, it passionately tells the story of the people who developed and owned these impressive electric vehicles, and their bid to save them from the scrapheap when GM decided to aggressively mothball the programme almost overnight.

The film shows that many of the myths around electric cars today were started in the mid-90s, and that many of the forces that sought to suppress them back then are still spouting the same untruths today through greenwashing campaigns.

While electric cars themselves are not the solution to the Climate Crisis, it is hard not to think about the reduction in emissions that we might have achieved with a 14-year head-start on widespread EV adoption.

This is a must-watch for anyone with an interest in electric cars or the Climate Crisis.

Carnage: Swallowing The Past

Run Time: 1h 8min
Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

The Climate Action movement can often feel a little devoid of comedy and humour given the seriousness of the situation that we face. However, Simon Amstell’s brilliant mockumentary is the perfect cure for this.

Set in 2067, we land in a utopian world where everyone is vegan following decades of social progress that has handed greater rights to animals, and averted the climate crisis.

Its humour does not obscure the seriousness of the message, repeatedly reiterating the harm that meat farming does to our planet – as well as the harm that we do to animals.

Amstell’s film perfectly blends stark, graphic facts with hopeful humour that will help you see veganism in a new light – and that eating meat is just as much of a choice as not eating meat.

With agriculture accounting for 34% of Ireland’s total greenhouse gas emissions, now is a perfect time to make the switch to a plant-based diet, and Carnage: Swallowing The Past might just be the catalyst to get you there.

Seaspiracy

Run Time: 1h 29min
Where to watch: Netflix

The film of the moment, Seaspiracy explores our relationship with the oceans – from our continued slaughter of whales and dolphins, to plastic pollution, and overfishing.

The brilliance at the heart of Seaspiracy is that it addresses the misconception of the term “sustainability” – detailing how often it is misused by politicians and corporations who are still focused on profits rather than living in harmony with the natural world.

While it is a little slow to get going, the film is truly accessible to anyone, regardless of your knowledge of the Climate Crisis.

It clearly explains just how damaging fishing practices are, and highlights the oft-overlooked role that the oceans play in capturing carbon – showing that protecting marine environments is just as essential as protecting natural forests in the face of the Climate Crisis.

Seaspiracy will make you rethink your relationship with the marine world and give you food for thought about how much seafood you consume – and whether now is the time to commit to a plant-based diet.

If you enjoyed Seaspiracy, we also recommend watching The Cove – an exposé on the repeated mass killing of dolphins in Japan – and Blackfish, which highlights the exploitation and abuse of marine animals in captivity at attractions like Seaworld.