THE CARBON BUBBLE
10 x 30 min comedy series
A black comedy about the farce that is Australia’s climate politics…
It’s a difficult time to be Richard Cole, Minister for Energy and the Environment of the Australian Government. The Prime Minister has told him that he must open the Kalyooga Coal Mine – the world’s
largest coal deposit ‘come hell or high water’ despite widespread protests, a falling coal price and a mining company that is struggling to find investors.
Meanwhile at home, Cole is in denial about a looming relationship breakdown with his restless wife (who is clearly sleeping with her yoga instructor), and a teenage daughter who is questioning her father’s ethical choices. Then the CSIRO come up with a technology that will make coal redundant.
On top of all this, Minister Cole is desperately trying to quit smoking.
SERIES OVERVIEW
The Carbon Bubble is a ten-part black comedy series about the hypocrisy of modern climate politics, the psychology of power, addiction and the lengths we will go in denial of the truth. It shows the human face of climate politics – the politicians, corporate lobbyists and mining magnates who are making sure it happens. The Carbon Bubble combines the clever dramatic twists of RAKE and its cast of eccentric
anti-heroes and UPPER MIDDLE-BOGAN’s play on Australian cultural cringe and social satire with the political farce of THE HOLLOWMEN and the classic YES, MINISTER.
The series shows the double dealings, media spin, power struggles and rampant hypocrisy that result in little to no change taking place. Ultimately, Minister Cole’s professional career requires him to live in denial – a pattern that is mirrored in his personal life which falls apart due to his inability to face up to change. The more he refuses to accept reality, the more impossible his situation becomes – no matter how much it is swept under the carpet, outsourced to the private sector or exported to China.