In “The White House Effect,” directors Bonni Cohen, Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk document how the opportunity to take real action on global warming was not only squandered but deliberately undermined by the George H.W. Bush administration (1988-1992).
Bush took office in 1988, which was the hottest year on record. The former president vowed to tackle global warming with what he called the “White House Effect” and confront the problem head-on. Using only archival footage, the documentary tells the story of how the seeds of climate change disinformation were sown in America three decades ago. In the film, the schism between action and denial plays out in the Oval Office, where Bush’s Environmental Protection Agency director William Riley and his chief of staff John Sununu clash over setting limits on fossil fuel emissions. “The White House Effect” ends with Bush arriving in Rio in 1992, where the United States not only reneged on its own promises but also undermined the entire global project to set real limits on emissions by the year 2000, setting the stage for the world’s current climate crisis.
Variety spoke with "White House Effect" directors Cohen, Kos and Shenk ahead of the documentary's premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31.
What was the reason for making this documentary?
