The movies like ‘Chasing Coral’, ‘Plastic Ocean’ and ‘An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power’, talk specifically about the problems mentioned in the Corp 21 regarding the Sustainable Development Goals. Al Gore (had been the 45th Vice President of the United States, is now a full-time Climate Change Activist), the man behind the success of the Paris Agreement, was the one whom An Inconvenient Truth and sequel were made. Here, Al Gore talks about the effects of carbon dioxide poisoning on the environment, the thinning of the ozone layer and everything that comes as a result of it. The glaciers are melting which are giving rise to floods and rise in sea levels. In time, the entire world will come in the clutches of climate change. There have been massive floods in Miami in the US as well Kerala and many other places in the Indian subcontinent. The costs of Indian ocean, i.e., in India, Sri Lanka, Philippines has accounted for the death of various sea animals like turtles and whales.
The movie ‘Chasing Coral’ is all about how oceans are sucking in more of carbon dioxide resulting in the death of the corals. In the process, the world is losing out on beauty, so many varieties of corals are at the brink of extinction and diverse types of fish lose their habitat. ‘Plastic Ocean’ states the reason of water animals and birds who survive on the food from sea or ocean are dying on a daily basis. Primarily, this is because of the pollution brought about by humans. They throw plastic variants in the oceans from the ships, there are oil spills every second day, the beaches are studded with plastic waste which again flow into the water bodies. Al Gore takes upon himself the initiative to save the nature by making the world more aware about the impending danger if the people do nothing about this. He went around travelling to countries who pulled a veto against the Agreement to convince them to vote otherwise.
The SDGs that concern these movies are- Goals 7: Affordable and clean energy, Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities, Goal 12: Responsible consumption and Production, Goal 13: Climate Action, Goal 14: Life under Water, and Goal 15: Life on Land.
In ‘Chasing Coral’, scientists are unequivocal about the cause of the bleaching: the oceans are warming, because they are absorbing more and more greenhouse gases as humans release massive, harmful amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. The more they heat up, the more algae the coral polyps must release to ensure their own short-term survival — but coral can’t survive long-term in such warm temperatures. It’s estimated that close to half of the coral in the Great Barrier Reef alone have died in the last 18 months. Things have gotten so bad that the terms of the debate have now shifted among coral scientists: Rather than try to restore the reefs, some simply hope to keep the remaining healthy reefs in functional condition. As it goes over the documenting process, the film does a useful job of informing us why coral is so important, showing how it provides sustenance to fish who then become food for other animals and humans. And that’s to say nothing of the tourism dollars at risk. But the climactic unveiling, when the research team can finally show off their hard-earned images of vanishing coral, takes place at a coral reef symposium.
‘The Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power’ delves deeper into the arcane details of compromise than its predecessor, with scenes of Mr. Gore working to find a middle ground between the needs of developed and developing nations. In a group meeting, Piyush Goyal, India’s power minister, pushed back against Mr. Gore’s desire to replicate in India the expanded use of solar energy in the United States. “I’ll do the same thing after 150 years,” Mr. Goyal had replied. During the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference, Mr. Gore, who wasn’t an official negotiator, tried to persuade Lyndon Rive, then chief executive of the American company SolarCity, to grant India the rights to a patent on a type of solar technology. The results weren’t clear from the film; India signed on to the Paris agreement without making a deal with SolarCity and still hasn’t made one.
‘Plastic Ocean’, throughout the film, we are shown footage of numerous marine species that have been affected by plastic debris. Marine animals and sea birds often mistake floating plastic for food. Large pieces of plastic, when eaten, can obstruct the animals’ digestive tracts of the animals, essentially starving them to death. When smaller “microplastics” are ingested, toxins are released and become stored in their tissue. These toxins accumulate up the food chain and can eventually end up on our dinner tables. The consumption of the contaminated seafood can cause many health problems including cancer, immune system problems, and even childhood developmental issues. This is a major problem, as almost a fifth of the world’s population relies on the ocean for their primary source of protein. Society’s huge appetite for plastic is literally poisoning us.
Certain countries like Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland are closest to achieving the SDGs up until now. Companies must maintain consistent standards for disclosing how business activities impact on progress towards the SDGs. Firms should shift away from reporting on how they are taking action to progress certain goals and towards disclosing how all business activities – including investment activity – impacts progress on the SDGs. A statement should be procured from a firm’s Board Chair that says the Board accepts responsibility for the SDG Disclosures in the annual report. Firms should also consider sustainable development risks and opportunities relevant to their long-term business strategy, the report says. Standardised reporting on these issues would make it easier for investors and banks to compare vulnerability across sectors and move capital to more climate-resilient companies and sectors. Besides these, the government should educate more and more people of the shortcomings of pollution and therefore, climate degradation. The society and the government should be working side by side if the problem has to be tackled overcoming all prejudices. The focus of employment should be slowly shifted and not rushed into if the government wants to plant solar plants and stop any further mining of coals. The government has to change their entire budget planning and as well as changing of mindsets of the people and hence, more time is required.
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