Year: 2019

Director: Damon Gameau

Starring: Damon Gameau

Language: English

Rating: Entertaining 4/5 | Informative 4/5 | Inspiring 5/5

In 2040, filmmaker Damon Gameau brings the issue of climate catastrophe into his home, staging the problem through captivating visuals of ice caps melting in the fridge, storms in the shower, and environmental particulates filling the rooms. Many places in the world are experiencing these effects of the climate crisis in their present day lives, and have been for many years.

From deadly flooding in parts of Europe and China to wildfires in the USA and record drought in Brazil, recent extreme weather events have made it undeniable that the climate catastrophe has already arrived. Yet discussion of the climate crisis is generally characterised by an overarching pessimism, with dire predictions of the extent of the problem and our capabilities (and willingness) to address it.

Gameau’s futuristic documentary 2040 is a shining counter to this, a beacon of optimism that showcases what could be in 2040 if the best existing technologies and solutions are implemented. Agriculture is not framed as the huge contributor to carbon emissions it is today, but rather as integral to solutions in the opportunities to draw down carbon. From electric microgrids in Bangladesh to marine permaculture in the South Pacific, 2040 provides a global, people-focused lens on these solutions as Gameau meets with changemakers from many walks of life.

What is particularly powerful is that the film is addressed as a love letter to Gameau’s 4-year-old daughter, imagining a better world for her. Children are at the forefront of this film, featured as the bright-eyed innovators of tomorrow with their takes on the issue:

2040 is unashamedly aspirational, termed by Gameau himself as an “exercise in fact-based dreaming”. Perhaps this is exactly what is needed to open the cognitive space for us to properly address this issue and imagine our future. After all, global health is, by definition, aspirational.

In 2040’s romanticisation of this issue, it is worth being mindful of the film’s silence on the inequalities inherent in the climate crisis between those contributing to the problem, and those experiencing the majority of its harms. One of the biggest criticisms of the climate movement is that it can be an echo chamber of people who have the knowledge and privilege to be able to care and contribute. However, here lies the core value of the film: it makes this issue accessible and understandable to all.

This is one of the few global health films that I would recommend to everyone I know and would encourage others to do the same, not only to raise attention to climate solutions but because of the feeling the film leaves you with. It provides you with reason to hope—potentially the most powerful, energising tool for change. 

2040 and an engaging panel discussion were screened in a partnership between Global Health Film* and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Centre for Planetary Health in December 2020. Keep an eye on their website for screenings of other brilliant global health films coming soon.

*KHR is not responsible for the content of external websites.