Climate Spring champions the power of storytelling to transform our cultural response to the climate crisis. We work with the screen and creative industries to tell stories that resonate, inspire and reach global audiences.

Next screen

Development Funding

Scripted Development

We provide development funding and support for scripted film and TV projects, from reading materials and discussing financial needs to co-funding development with production partners.

We support stories across all genres, including drama, comedy, sci-fi and thrillers. We are interested in narrative-rich, character-led and solution-oriented stories that have the potential to engage broad mainstream audiences. Our commissioning priorities are guided by our Climate Storytelling Guide. Occasionally, we will list additional submissions briefs on our Opportunities page.

We do not currently fund short films through our Development Fund. However, additional Climate Spring writers’ development labs and competitions may cover short-form projects.

Unscripted Development

We invest in the development of commercially viable unscripted series and formats and are interested in a wide range of genres and subjects, from big social experiments and factual entertainment shows to returnable pop doc series and lifestyle programmes. 

Natural history and one-off documentaries (particularly feature-length, singles and shorts) are a low priority for us, except through targeted initiatives such as our annual Sheffield DocFest x Climate Spring Pitch.

For full details, please see our Unscripted Development Brief.

Eligibility and how to apply

We only accept submissions from literary representatives or established production companies. Any unsolicited submissions will be deleted and not reviewed. To submit an idea, please contact our development team via enquiries@climate-spring.org with details about your project, including a paragraph on why you feel it fits our commissioning priorities.

Those who don’t meet these criteria may be eligible for Climate Spring's additional writers' development programmes and offers, advertised on our Opportunities page.

Please note our funding currently supports English- and French-language projects focused on audiences in the Global North, particularly the UK, US, Canada, Australia and Europe. This both reflects our funders’ remit and our core aim to drive greater climate engagement in regions that have been historically most responsible for the climate crisis. We are intentional about this approach and are mindful that Global North-based organisations should not shape climate narratives for Global Majority countries. Instead, we seek to support and collaborate with partners working in those contexts and to signpost to relevant organisations through our Ecosystem page.

Evaluation and timeframe

We are a small team and receive a high volume of submissions. To give each idea the attention it deserves, please allow a few months for a response. We assess projects on their fit with our strategic goals, our briefs and their commercial potential, including a clear route to screen.

Editorial Consulting

We support the screen industries with tailored editorial and story consultancy for film and TV projects. As a team of leading climate, screen industry and narrative experts, we offer informed, strategic guidance on how best to articulate climate messaging within a story. Our story consultancy can start at the earliest stages of development, often from the initial pitch, and often continues all the way through to distribution.

Get in touch for tailored story consultancy

Read more about Editorial Consulting

Workshops and Training

Professional Development Programmes

We host annual online professional development programmes across the UK, Europe and North America, designed to equip producers, script editors, script consultants and development executives with the knowledge and creative confidence to champion engaging climate content for film and TV, a key skillset increasingly high in demand across our industry.

Through expert-led lectures, peer to peer sessions and hands-on exploration of how to tell compelling climate stories, participants learn how to authentically embed climate into the heart of projects they’re supporting, and into the wider film and TV storytelling ecosystem.

Please refer to our Opportunities page.  for our current course offer.

Workshops and Masterclasses

We host a regular programme of online workshops and masterclasses for writers and creatives, including our World Building workshops series as well as masterclasses with leading creatives from our community.

Our World Building workshops help unlock our imagination to envision life beyond fossil fuels and extractive systems. We offer practical frameworks that turn climate science, technology and solutions into creative inspiration, creating near-future worlds that explore what a regenerative near future looks and feels like.

Upcoming sessions will be listed on our Events page. If you would like us to host a bespoke workshop or training for your company, festival or organisation, please get in touch with our team.

Writers’ Retreats

Our writers' retreats offer writers a space to recharge, reflect, and reconnect with their creative purpose.

We believe that rest and community are essential ingredients for powerful regenerative storytelling. These retreats provide nurturing, peer-to-peer spaces for writers to restore creative energy, deepen their craft, and strengthen the sense of collective resilience that underpins stories of a more equitable and regenerative future.

Read more about Our Workshop and Training Offering

The Climate Fiction Prize, founded by Climate Spring, celebrates novels that explore the human experience of the climate crisis. It rewards stories that illuminate how climate change impacts individuals, communities, and society - and how we can navigate and respond.

Visit the Climate Fiction Prize website for more information.

Read more about the Climate Fiction Book PRize

Talent Engagement

Climate Spring acts as a campaign partner to Green Rider as part of our wider industry engagement. Green Rider is an actor-led movement using contractual and cultural influence to create a fairer, healthier, and cleaner TV and film industry.

Through the Green Rider Handshake, productions and talent commit to sustainable, people-centered practices that reduce pollution while fostering healthier, more collaborative ways of working.

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