If it was up to you, what would our world look like in 2040? Would there be more trees? More sustainable development? Less meat-eating? This is the exact question Damon Gameau set out to answer in making his film 2040. Inspired by his young daughter, Velvet, he set out to scour the globe for planet-saving climate solutions. The only catch? They had to already be implemented and effective. He wanted to prove we could save our planet and ourselves with resources already within our grasp. 

From visiting interconnected solar communities in Bangladesh to on-demand electric driverless vehicles in Singapore, Gameau shows us all the incredible innovations already at play to save our world from further climate change. Calling his work “an exercise in fact-based dreaming,” Gameau strategically lays out the significant damage already done to our planet, but pairs each crisis with a feasible solution that can help stop and even reverse carbon dioxide emissions. 

In Australia, Gameau takes a look at commercial agriculture and demonstrates how soil can be renewed with off-season planting to actually absorb, rather than release, CO2. Below the sea, he explores marine permaculture where fast-growing seaweed cultivation is boosting water quality and ocean animal populations. 

Using creative animation and strategic analogies, Gameau reminds us that the solutions to climate change do not exist in one industry, but rather span across the energy, economy, transportation, agriculture, and education sectors. 

Most of us aren’t getting out of the house much these days, so when our partners at The World Business Academy sponsored a screening of 2040 at our local drive-in theater, we jumped at the opportunity to get out of the house safely and learn about even more tangible solutions to some of our world’s biggest problems. If you’re feeling a bit discouraged with the dominant media discourse and want to feed your solutions-oriented brain, head over to the 2040 website to stream the movie today!