COP29: UK’s Biggest Broadcasters Commit To A Shared Measurement System For Climate Change Content

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: With COP29 underway, a host of UK broadcasters have agreed on a method to measure the climate change impact of their on-screen content.

It means a raft of data will be gathered from early 2025. The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the United Nation’s annual climate change gathering.

The current edition is in Baku, Azerbaijan. As the event opened yesterday, the UN said that 2024 will be the hottest year on record.

The latest TV industry development follows the signing of a Climate Content Pledge at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021. That saw broadcasters make six key pledges including creating “content that helps everyone understand and navigate the path to net zero” and ensuring “these efforts are informed by the science.” The new commitment, which will be unveiled later today against the backdrop of COP29, means a reporting system will be introduced to gather data from all programs commissioned by the participating broadcasters: the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV, Sky and UKTV. “It is really significant because it will be the basis for so much more reporting,” Catherine Ellis, the first Head of Climate Content at Bafta’s sustainability org albert, told Deadline. “It shows the commitment from the Climate Content Pledge signees that this continues to matter to them.