TLOU Actor Bella Ramsey Among Actors Pledging To Cut Down On Plane Trips

Actors including Bella Ramsey, Stephen Fry, and Haley Atwell have signed up to a pledge intended to reduce the environmental impact of the film and TV industry. The pledge includes actions like taking trains over planes, sharing trailers, and bringing reusable water bottles and coffee cups on set, the BBC reports.

The initiative comes in the form of a "green rider" drawn up by UK arts union Equity. A rider refers to a set of clauses that can be added to an actor's contract to specify their requirements on-set, with A-list riders often becoming infamous for highly specific, expensive, and ostentatious requests. The green rider is almost the opposite, encouraging actors to choose train travel over planes where possible, and even reducing "food and comfort requests" that require sending someone off set to fulfil.

In a statement on the rider, Bella Ramsey said it was "a practical route to positive change in the film and television industry in regards to sustainability."

The rider acknowledges the film and TV industry's high environmental impact, saying: "As a high-emitting sector, our industry has a key part to play in the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon society." It adds, "during Covid, our industry adapted in ways we could not have imagined. We can and will change again to tackle the climate emergency."

Around 100 actors have pledged to use the rider for future productions, including Bella Ramsey, Stephen Fry, Hayley Atwell, Bill Nighy, Ben Whishaw, David Harewood, Paapa Essiedu, Nabhaan Rizwan, Juliet Stevenson, Dame Harriet Walter and Adrian Dunbar.

Actor Tom Burke helped launch the campaign, saying, "a lot of the things that are being discussed, like people wanting to travel on private jets--these are status symbols and it doesn't just come from what we show up for as actors, it comes from the media as well."

"We just have to unpick this and be a bit more grown-up about it, especially if we're going to make a noise about caring," Burke added.