The Climate Reality Check
A Bechdel-Wallace Test for a World on Fire
Published by Good Energy and Buck Lab for Climate & Environment, Colby College
Authors: Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, PhD; Carmiel Banasky; Bruno Olmedo Quiroga; Anna Jane Joyner
Climate change is our reality.
It's happening here and now, not elsewhere or in the future. It touches every aspect of life. But that reality is still largely absent from our on-screen stories.
The Climate Reality Check is a simple tool to evaluate whether our climate reality is being represented in films, TV shows, and other narratives. It's inspired by the Bechdel-Wallace Test, which measures gender representation.
The Climate Reality Check asks whether, in a given story:
- Climate change exists
- And a character knows it
Who is this test for?
How do I use this test?
The Climate Reality Check is exactly that: a reality check for narratives. You can use it to test any story set on Earth, which takes place now, in the recent past, or in the future. It doesn't apply to high fantasy or to stories set on other planets or in the distant past.
To use the Climate Reality Check, just apply these two statements to any narrative:
Climate change exists
A character knows it
Why use the test?
Climate change touches every aspect of life, so it’s only natural for it to show up in our stories, and for creators to include it in their work.
This is about highlighting authentic stories that reflect the reality we're all living in and help us navigate what it means to be human in the age of climate change.
The Climate Reality Check does not suggest or require that every story center climate change, nor does it prescribe what kinds of stories filmmakers should tell. It simply measures whether our current climate reality is being reflected on-screen. How that is done, friends, is up to you.
Test Results: 250 Popular Films, 2013—2022
A research team at the Buck Lab for Climate and Environment at Colby College, led by Dr. Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, used the Climate Reality Check to conduct a systematic content analysis of 250 of the most popular fictional films released between 2013 and 2022. The results show that climate representation is on the rise—and commercially successful—but we have a long way to go. Filling that gap presents a unique creative opportunity.
Note: Since the Climate Reality Check is intended to check whether films are reflecting the reality of climate change, films that are high fantasy, not set on Earth, set before 2006, or set after 2100 were excluded.
The Results
We found that, of the 250 films studied, climate change was rarely present:
- Only 9.6% of the 250 films passed the Climate Reality Check.
- Climate change existed in the story world of only 12.8% of all films (passing part one of the test).
- Climate change was mentioned in two or more scenes in only 3.6% of all films
However, climate inclusion is becoming more common:
- Climate change was present in twice as many films released during the second half of the decade we examined (2018 to 2022) compared to the first half (2013 to 2017).
Only 9.6% of the 250 films passed the Climate Reality Check.
Climate change was present in twice as many films released during the second half of the decade.
We also found that stories that include climate change are profitable:
- Among the 220 films with theatrical releases, films that included climate change (passing part one of the test) earned, on average, 8% more at the box office than those that did not.
- Similarly, films that included at least one character who is aware of climate change (passing part two of the test) performed 10% better at the box office than those that did not.
Meanwhile, testing the second part of the Climate Reality Check revealed that the demographics of characters who are aware of climate change on-screen do not accurately reflect our climate reality:
- Only one in ten films (9.6%) included a character who is aware of climate change.
- Characters who were portrayed as being aware of climate change were overwhelmingly male (69.5%), white (65%), and middle-aged (77.2%), which is not an accurate depiction of those who are most affected by and most concerned about climate change in the real world.
- Only 2% of films contained a character who is experiencing climate anxiety.
- Climate-friendly actions were rarely depicted: only 9.6% of films portrayed a character riding a bicycle, and 1.2% of films featured characters who are identified as vegan or vegetarian.
Films that included at least one character who is aware of climate change (passing part two of the test) performed 10% better at the box office than those that did not.
Characters who were portrayed as being aware of climate change were overwhelmingly male (69.5%), white (65%), and middle-aged (77.2%).
The results paint a clear picture: including climate change in films is profitable, and it’s on the rise. There are so many interesting (and realistic) ways that climate can show up on-screen that have yet to be explored. The creative possibilities are endless.
A few case studies of films we love that passed the Climate Reality Check:
Glass Onion (2022)
Climate change is the backdrop and impetus of billionaire Miles Bron’s (Edward Norton) untested hydrogen scheme. He claims the fuel is “radically efficient, zero carbon emissions, and it’s derived from abundant seawater. I call it Klear, with a K.” His villainy serves as a warning against relying on tech gurus for a “silver bullet” or quick tech fix to solve the climate crisis. It illustrates how complicated this issue is — in a way that fits organically into this wildly successful whodunnit. Climate change is also mentioned explicitly by Governor Claire DeBella (Kathryn Hahn), who is running her election campaign on a climate platform, with the intention of supporting Miles’s hydrogen fuel: “I’m a hardline on climate change. If that scares you, go stick your head back in the sand.”
Glass Onion was Netflix’s best-performing theatrical release at the time, and received 209 million hours of viewership in less than two weeks. The film’s writer and director, Rian Johnson, received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Triangle of Sadness (2022)
At the frenetic start of the film, a man interviewing a group of male models says “hashtag climate change.” It’s a quick joke said in passing, but it’s enough to set the stage for the themes of the film and the world we’re about to enter—one in which greed and the wealth gap (arguably the causes of climate catastrophe) break down in the face of disaster on the high seas. The film serves up a wide-ranging and scathing societal critique (and has so much fun doing it), not least aimed at climate injustice. Triangle of Sadness was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.
Happy Death Day (2017)
Happy Death Day is a time-loopy “Groundhog Day” thriller about Tree (Jessica Rothe), a college student who must relive her birthday — and the day she was murdered — over and over until she solves the mystery of her own death. One of the people she encounters repeatedly, each time she repeats the day, is a climate activist who asks passersby if they would like to help “stop global warming.” Audiences are reminded of the climate crisis repeatedly—a total of six times in the film — in a way that is organic to the world (a college campus). The movie, which grossed $125 million worldwide on a $4.8 million budget, is a fun and lighthearted example of how climate can be woven into any genre.
Test Results: 2024 Oscar Nominees
Last year was the hottest year in recorded history, and our planet is currently warmer than it's been in at least 125,000 years. We wanted to know if the most critically acclaimed films of the year reflected this reality. To find out, a research team led by Dr. Matthew Schneider-Mayerson used the Climate Reality Check to analyze the films that received Oscar nominations in 2024.
The Results
Thirty-one fictional, feature-length films received Oscar nominations in 2024. Of those, thirteen fit our inclusion criteria: stories set in the present or near future, on Earth, in this universe. Those films were: Barbie, American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Past Lives, May December, Nyad, Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One, The Creator, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Io Capitano, Perfect Days, The Teachers’ Lounge, and Godzilla Minus One. Each film was coded by two researchers to ensure accuracy and reliability.
This is the first Oscars year coded using this test, and the results are surprising—in a good way.
Of the nominated films coded, 23% (3 films) passed the Climate Reality Check! Those films were: Barbie, Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One, and Nyad.
Of the thirteen Oscar-nominated films we analyzed, three included climate change in their story worlds.
Of the thirteen Oscar-nominated films we analyzed, three contained at least one character who was aware of climate change.
We love these climate moments and hope they inspire more:
In Barbie, nominated for eight Academy Awards, we see a quick mention that ties the climate crisis to consumerism. Teenage Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) lays into Barbie (Margot Robbie): “You set the feminist movement back fifty years, you destroyed girls' innate sense of worth, and you're killing the planet with your glorification of rampant consumerism.” Though the words “climate change” aren't spoken, the tie between “rampant consumerism” and “killing the planet” evokes the climate crisis and connects climate change to one of its root systemic causes. And by juxtaposing feminism and climate concerns (“sexualized capitalism!”), the film makes the intersectional argument that it's all connected, all the same bad guy.
In Mission Impossible, nominated for two Academy Awards, Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) warns Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) that “the next world war isn't going to be a cold one.” He goes on to say, “It's going to be a ballistic war over a rapidly shrinking ecosystem. It's going to be a war for the last of our dwindling energy, drinkable water, breathable air.” Ethan is hunting a rogue AI, a cyberweapon originally developed by the US to prepare for the climate chaos Kittridge evokes. One of the AI's key features is its ability to predict probable outcomes, a skill we might all wish we had as we enter the uncertainty of our climate future
In Nyad, nominated for two Academy Awards, climate change is explicitly mentioned as an obstacle to Diana Nyad's attempt to make history by swimming from Cuba to Florida. On Nyad's third try, she is stung by a box jellyfish, which almost kills her. Her friend and coach, Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster), tells a dazed Nyad (Annette Bening), “So the UMiami folks think that the box jellyfish came up off the shallow reef when we left Cuba. Global warming.” Earlier, the team on the boat accompanying Nyad say the box jellyfish “can kill you” and “shouldn't be” in this part of the ocean. Through dialogue in two scenes, climate change is linked to changes in marine animal ranges, which pose threats to individual species, ecosystems, and human health—and threaten the life of the film's protagonist.
Who developed this test?
Good Energy is a nonprofit story consultancy for the age of climate change. Our mission is to support TV and film creators in telling wildly entertaining stories that honestly reflect the world we live in now—a world that's in a climate crisis. We aim to make it as easy as possible to portray the climate crisis on-screen in artful ways, in any storyline, across every genre.
Good Energy CRC team members: Anna Jane Joyner (founder and CEO) is a long-time story consultant and strategist at the intersection of climate, communications, and storytelling. Carmiel Banasky (editor-in-chief) is a critically acclaimed novelist, WGA TV and feature writer, and audio-drama creator, specializing in climate fiction. Bruno Olmedo Quiroga (director of strategy) is a design researcher, strategist, storyteller, IDEO alum, and cofounder of Maybe Ventures. Design: EJ Baker (creative director) is a visual designer and strategist, IDEO alum, and cofounder of Maybe Ventures. Web Development: Claire Niederberger is a software engineer, creative technologist, and Principal at Be Nice Works.
Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, PhD is associate professor of English and environmental studies at Colby College. His research combines literary criticism with communication studies and qualitative sociology to examine the cultural and political dimensions of climate change, with a focus on climate justice. He is the author or editor of four books, including An Ecotopian Lexicon (University of Minnesota Press, 2019) and Empirical Ecocriticism: Environmental Narratives for Social Change (University of Minnesota Press, 2023).
How did we develop it?
We landed on the two components of the Climate Reality Check after interviewing more than 200 writers, showrunners, executives, and communications experts. Our goal was to ensure the test was easy to use, measurable, and creatively inspiring.
