After 21 years of continuous failure in UN climate change negotiations 195 nations and 20,000 international negotiators meet at a private airport shielded by the military in the north of Paris for a last attempt to save our planet. The Paris Agreement is a milestone in human history and is going to change our life for the next decades.
With full access to key players and important meetings, Guardians of the Earth looks at how national self-interest is pursued in the face of a crisis that will lead to the destruction of whole countries. It also covers the conflict between rich versus poor, victims against profiteers and the many other power struggles taking place during the negotiations. It is a reflection of the global community told by high-ranking figures, as mankind unites to challenge the biggest threat of our times.
Guardians of the Earth
Director: Filip Antoni Malinowski
80 min. Germany 2017
Dialogue: English, German and French.
Festival theme: Climate change
Emmanuel Macron’s attempt to make tackling climate change central to his policy programme backfired spectacularly when the Gilet Jaunes insurgents took to the streets of France, angered by new diesel taxes and rising living costs. But the need for urgent measures to tackle global emissions has never been greater: according to the IPPC, the world has only 12 years to cut global emissions in half. As a crisis that pays no heed to international borders, it is impossible for European countries to tackle these fundamental challenge alone. Can Europe lead the world on this issue? Or will it be held back by the growing populist tide: only three of the 21 right-wing populist parties in the current European Parliament accept the scientific consensus of man-made climate change. Once at the forefront of the fight against global warming Europe has lost its initial focus. Can it claim it back and lead the urgent and radical action that is needed to avoid a global catastrophe?