TV Episode Review: The Art of Cutting Carbon

The climate crisis is certainly no secret, with the number of extreme weather events, sea levels and the earth’s temperatures rising. The Art of Cutting Carbon highlights these issues in its own unique and effective way, by using art.

Roger Harrabin, in partnership with the Eden Project, highlights large quantities of concrete, steel, cardboard, plastic and aluminium used in everyday life all producing massive amounts of CO2. He does a fantastic job exploring different ways industries that produce these materials are attempting to reduce carbon emissions. These include visiting the Cemex factory, a company who are striving towards generating less CO2 by using new materials and techniques to make concrete and cement. Exploring steelworks in Sweden that produce no carbon and emit nothing but water vapour. In Germany, he visits a factory with a machine which can recycle aluminium whilst only producing a fraction of the carbon of normal recycling.

Many artists have highlighted climate change through their recent projects, Roger Harrabin does a great job of this in his documentary. Partnering with the Eden Project, it allowed him to highlight the large quantities of carbon produced in everyday life, whilst incorporating the relationship that art has in highlighting climate change. Exploring the numerous different ways that CO2 is being reduced is a great way of giving viewers a sense of hope for the future whilst staying entertaining. Therefore, this makes The Art of Cutting Carbon a very relevant and informative documentary, which communicates the message of climate change in an impactful and artistic way. -★★★☆☆