Yes, we definitely need more TV characters going green – but why has it taken so long?

Lisa Simpson may have been doing her bit for the environment as early as the Nineties, writes Charlotte Cripps, but the TV industry has waited to the last minute to show more characters taking climate action

'Lisa the Tree Hugger’ episode in season 12 of The Simpsons (2000) (20th Television)

TV characters who buy electric cars or go vegan will help change the public’s actions more than preachy guilt-tripping over global warming.

That is what a Sky report concluded at the Cop26 UN climate change conference in Glasgow this week. Sky’s chief executive, Dana Strong – who has herself been criticised for regularly commuting on a private plane from the US to the UK – presented the findings and called for climate action from the TV industry, urging them to drop in more TV characters doing their bit for the environment.

Also, Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale, Casualty, Doctors, Holby City and Hollyoaks have joined forces to highlight global warming to tie in with Cop26. There are climate-change-themed episodes and crossovers in the storylines, with some of the best-loved British soap characters popping up in other dramas.