Mr. CO2
51m
Directed by Yves Billy • Documentary • 2010 • 52 minutes
MR. CO2 opens in Copenhagen, where the world's political leaders gather in December 2009 to try and hammer out a new carbon treaty to replace the Kyoto Accord.
The developing world, which faces the most devastation from climate change, presses for a deal, while China and the United States thwart efforts that might impinge on their sovereignty. And little wonder: the U.S.'s rise to global economic dominance was built through burning fossil fuels, and China hopes to raise 150 million people out of poverty the same way. Neither has much short-term interest in limiting emissions—and neither do countries like Australia, which export huge amounts of coal to fuel China's energy-hungry industries and power plants.
Featuring climate scientists, activists, coal producers and high-stakes negotiators, MR. CO2 makes clear that there will be no easy answers when it comes to solving the climate crisis. Clean coal is more propaganda than reality, and carbon sequestration and storage carry their own environmental risks.
"Help[s] to clarify the complex political problems associated with reducing dangerous carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the burning of fossil fuels."—Science Books and Films