Greta Thunberg has said there is a “lack of storytelling when it comes to the climate crisis”.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the Swedish climate activist said she knows “so many” individual artists, storytellers and journalists who want to create work about the environment.
However she said they “don’t really have the support in order to do that”, adding there is “a big lack of storytelling when it comes to climate crisis, whether it is fictional or whether it is reflecting the reality as it looks today”.
.@GretaThunberg and Jo Nesbo are delivering this year's Worldview Address - discussing the creative industry’s responsibility towards sustainability and a greener future ad whether there should be emphasis on a storyteller’s role to highlight the climate crisis. Sponsored by @BBC pic.twitter.com/WDdixGkQFN
— Edinburgh TV Festival (@EdinburghTVFest) August 24, 2021
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Ms Thunberg added: “But I think if we would start writing about this, if we would start telling stories about this, I think there would be a demand for that.
“I think we are underestimating interest in the climate crisis.”
She said the entertainment industry has “the resources to be able to reach countless people in a very short amount of time”.
“I just hope that they will not only see their moral responsibility in this, but also see the potential it has, the artistic potential, and the storytelling potential it has, to benefit not only them, but also the whole of humanity,” Ms Thunberg said.
She said humanity “will need people who are brave enough to not be afraid to stand out and to do these things that may seem uncomfortable”.
“Whether it is by storytelling, making movies that will put you in a different spotlight, it will seem like you are taking a stand, when in fact in a crisis like this, what really is taking a stand is remaining neutral.”
She was speaking alongside the Norwegian writer Jo Nesbo in the online event.
The Harry Hole author said there are “many good stories there” about the climate crisis.
“It doesn’t need to be about the technicalities about what is happening to our planet right now because at the end of the day, this is about the decisions we make, it’s about people, it’s about courage, it’s about intelligence.”
He added: “I think that’s simply a good story. To me that seems like an action movie, emphasising the broad interpretation of the word action.”
