In her article “The Futures We Tell” in SPRINGS: The Rachel Carson Center Review, project director Alexa Weik von Mossner offers insights into how the future impacts of climate change are imagined in journalism, literature, and film, drawing on research findings regarding the film 2040 from the VISIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY project.

Journalists, novelists and filmmakers have been confronted with the expectation that their speculative storytelling should be useful in the fight against climate change. As the calls keep multiplying for more diverse, more positive, more effective, and better imaginations of the future, we must consider the different modes, aims, and intended audiences of such storytelling. By themselves, stories cannot save us from political failures and their effects on environments, lives, and livelihoods. But their ability to engage the imagination is nevertheless a valuable tool in climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.

The article presents data on Damon Gameau’s climate film 2040: We Save the World, which was collected in December 2024 as part of the “VISIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY” project at the Harmonie Kino in Freiburg.

More information:

Weik von Mossner, Alexa. 2026. “The Futures We Tell.” Springs: The Rachel Carson Center Review 10 (July).