NOVA’s new film, Chasing Carbon Zero, produced by Miles O’Brien and Will Toubman, tracks the next-gen technologies that could help us reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Is it even possible? What will it take? From expanding the availability of renewable energy options, to designing more energy-efficient buildings, to revolutionizing the transportation sector, the film casts a hopeful but skeptical eye. We spoke with Caitlin Saks, NOVA’s senior producer of the film, to get her perspective.
What does “carbon zero” mean?
“Carbon zero” is really shorthand for “net-zero carbon emissions.” Humans have been emitting gases into the air that are warming the planet, and most of them contain carbon, such as carbon dioxide and methane. If we want to slow and eventually stop the warming, we need to stop releasing these gases. We're probably never going to reach a world where we emit zero carbon, so the goal is to reach “net zero,” where we only emit a little bit, and we can balance that by capturing some greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
What did you learn while making this film?
I've been reporting on climate my entire career and it wasn't until I started working on this film that I felt like I understood what the pathway is to get to carbon zero. It was always too big of a problem to wrap my arms around. It was just a big slurry of, ‘We need to do everything right now.’ I also learned that we've already made a ton of progress. The cost of wind and solar have dropped much faster than was predicted. Replacing coal with natural gas is also a big contributor. So there have already been unexpected victories, which gives me a sense of optimism in the face of so much bad news.
What is the pathway to carbon zero?
I think the job for today can be boiled down to five steps:
- Electrify as much as we can — appliances, heating systems, stoves, cars.
- Decarbonize electricity — get as many of the power plants off fossil fuels by replacing them with wind power, solar power, batteries and other zero-carbon tech.
- Do the R&D to figure out how to decarbonize the hard stuff, like heavy industry, agriculture and heavy transportation, so those technologies can be implemented in the next decades.
- Get rid of other greenhouse gas emissions, such as methane, which is much more powerful than carbon dioxide.
- Figure out how to address the impacts that we're already feeling.
What gives you the most hope?
The sheer amount of human brain power and ingenuity focused on solving this problem. It's in almost everybody's best interest to solve this problem and more and more people are starting to believe that.
What is NOVA’s perspective on climate change?
Climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time and communicating effectively about it is crucial and enormously challenging. As a science series, NOVA’s role is to empower audiences with knowledge and understanding of the science behind climate change and to encourage informed conversation and engagement around the issue. We’ve learned through research that just hearing about an existential threat can make people feel overwhelmed and cause them to distance themselves psychologically. This film takes a realistic but hopeful look at the climate crisis, focusing on tangible solutions and providing audiences with the information and tools needed to implement them.
What do you think will surprise viewers?
Each scene in the film has a bit of a surprise. For example, who would have thought that professional chefs are starting to realize that induction stoves are not only better for the environment because they don’t emit greenhouse gases, but they’re better for their health? They don’t emit toxins that affect chefs’ cardiovascular and respiratory systems. And it may give them more control over what they’re cooking. It's a triple win.
What impact do you hope the film has?
My hope is that it gives other people hope. I hope it allows people to feel that the climate challenge is addressable and that they are willing to think about what they can do as opposed to being overwhelmed by the scale of the challenge, or by doom-and-gloom scenarios.
Chasing Carbon Zero is part of NOVA’s national Climate Across America initiative,, spotlighting how climate change is affecting communities across the country and the innovative solutions being implemented to address the climate crisis.
Watch the premiere on Wednesday, April 26 at 9pm on GBH 2, streaming online at pbs.org/nova, on the PBS App and NOVA’s YouTube channel.
Major funding for NOVA’s Climate Across America initiative is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding is provided by the GBH Planet Future Fund, which supports programs across the organization that amplify climate and environmental issues with an eye toward illuminating practical, equitable and sustainable solutions to the current climate crisis, both locally and nationally. For more information, please contact Jessica Connolly, senior director of development, major gifts, at jessica_connolly@wgbh.org.
Funding for Chasing Carbon Zero is provided by The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the NOVA Science Trust (with support from Anna and Neil Rasmussen and Howard and Eleanor Morgan), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS viewers.
