Channel 4 has issued a brief to indies seeking ideas for “high-impact shows intended to inspire audiences to engage with the international climate emergency.”

The cross-genre brief calls for indies to submit ideas for “hopeful, provocative and irreverent content that will energise and empower audiences to live sustainably and to engage with the global conversation on climate change.”

Recent commissions including Joe Lycett Vs the Oil Giant and Celebrity Trash Monsters “demonstrate the type of show genre commissioning heads are after”, but the brief is open for all genres.

The brief calls for a “small number of high-impact shows which will inspire our audiences to engage with the climate emergency and ideally empower them to help make change.” The brief rules out “Small shows specifically about the climate” that “tell people what to do.”

Channel 4 says it wants “to bring BIG talent to the agenda,” to “hold power to account with bold ideas that entertain and sustain” and that it will “prioritise impact over quantity when it comes to commissioning in this space” and “provide an alternative to the tone and content of other broadcasters.”

Ian Katz, Channel 4 Chief Content Officer commented: “Climate change is, quite literally, the burning issue of our age but sadly often makes for rather eat-your-peas television. We’re looking for ideas that are inventive or audacious enough to make our viewers sit up and think about what they can do to help solve the problem – and ideally empower them to actually do something about it.”

The full brief can be found here: https://www.channel4.com/commissioning/channel-4-climate-emergency-brief