Declaration Towards More Sustainable Screen Industries

Lumière Summit — Saint-Paul-de-Vence, 7 September 2026 

Jointly presented by France and the Republic of Korea 

 

1. Film and TV sector are powerful drivers of economic and cultural development. Beyond their direct contribution to jobs, investment and growth, they generate economic activity and create opportunities across a wide range of sectors, from technology and tourism to cultural and creative industries.  

 

2. Their influence also extends far beyond the economy. Through the stories and images they bring to audiences around the world, cinema and audiovisual storytelling shape how societies, cultures and countries are perceived. This gives the sector a unique ability to influence perceptions and a responsibility for the images and values it conveys. 

 

3. The participants gathered in Saint-Paul-de-Vence for the Lumière Summit bring together Countries, Regions, international organizations, private-sector partners and civil society organizations from the film, audiovisual and video game industries. They recognize that the moving image sectors have an impact on the environment. In the context of the climate emergency, this places a responsibility on all stakeholders to help drive the transition towards more sustainable practices and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

 

4. This responsibility must be seen in the context of the international commitments made to address climate change. In 2015, the Parties to the Paris Agreement committed to keeping the rise in the global average temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. At European level, the European Green Deal, launched in December 2019, has set the European Union on a path towards climate neutrality. This includes the objective of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. 

 

5. Many countries have already recognized the need to change practices and are supporting the industry’s transition. Several national and regional guidelines have been developed. Some countries link financial support for filmmaking to specific sustainability criteria, while others have introduced incentives to encourage more sustainable productions. These efforts are also being led by the various actors of the industry. Considerable work has therefore already been undertaken to develop practical tools and supportive frameworks. 

 

6. Yet, despite the urgency of the climate crisis, these initiatives remain fragmented. The sector still lacks a sufficiently shared and consistent framework. There are no common measures to steer the film and audiovisual industries collectively towards a clear pathway for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Greater convergence and interoperability between existing approaches are therefore needed, particularly as creative production becomes increasingly globalized and international co-productions continue to grow. 

 

7. The transition towards more sustainable practices is also taking place against a challenging backdrop. The sector is facing resource scarcity and rising energy costs, difficulties in securing food and technical equipment – including new equipment and spare parts for repairs – and increasingly severe weather events. These challenges directly affect how cinema and audiovisual works are created and produced, further underlining the need to adapt the industry’s practices. 

 

We, the undersigned Countries, Regions, international organizations, private-sector partners and civil society organizations, therefore make the following shared commitment to reducing the sector’s environmental footprint. 

 

8. We commit to working together to ensure that the moving image sectors contribute to the collective effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help deliver the objectives of the Paris Agreement. We will work towards greater convergence in the tools, methodologies, and frameworks used to support the industry’s ecological transition. 

 

9. This work will build on the considerable progress already made in many countries and on existing guidelines, standards, tools and incentives that have demonstrated their value. The aim is to build on tried-and-tested approaches and make them more compatible and consistent across borders. 

 

10. Globalized creative production, the growth of international co-productions and the scale of the environmental challenge all make common and interoperable tools essential. We therefore commit to promoting greater alignment between existing approaches and, for the European States, to supporting the development of a European standard through the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), where appropriate. Such a standard could provide a shared reference framework while drawing on the experience and expertise already developed across Europe. 

 

11. Common standards and shared tools should support stakeholders throughout the value chain, make cross-border cooperation easier and provide a clearer, more coherent basis for public policy and support schemes. We must also remain flexible enough to reflect different national contexts, levels of institutional commitment and circumstances beyond the industry’s control. Above all, we should support continuous improvement and help all stakeholders move towards more sustainable practices. 

 

12. By endorsing this declaration, we affirm our shared commitment to making the industry a leader in climate action and to ensuring that future generations can continue to create, produce and experience cinema and audiovisual works on a sustainable planet. 

 

Adopted at Saint-Paul-de-Vence, 7 September 2026. 

Signatories: 

 

States, Regions, International Organizations 

Côte d’Ivoire, Finland, France, Greece, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, South Africa 

National and Regional Film Agencies 

Austrian Film Institute, British Film Institute, Cinema Foundation of Armenia, Estonian Folm Institute, Film centre of Montenegro, Film Fund Luxembourg, Finnish Film Foundation, Fondo Mixto de Promoción Cinematográfica Proimágenes Colombia, Fonds des Médias du Canada, General Organization for Cinema of Syria, German Federal Film Board, Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center, Hungary, Indonesian Film Agency, Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual, Kenyan Film Commission, KOCCA, KOFIC, Norwegian Film Institute, Screen Ireland, SODEC, Swedish Film Institute, Téléfilm Canada 

Organizations 

Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), African Film and Media Arts Collective (AFMAC), Arcom, ARP, Arte France, Association Française des Cinémas Art et Essai, Banijay France, Berlinale – Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin, Beta Group, Busan International Film Festival, Business France, Chapter 2, Cinépolis, Cineworld Group, CITIA, CJ ENM, CJ Group, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Dharamsala, Durban FilmMart Institute, Eastman Kodak Co., École GOBELINS Paris, European Film Agency Directors Association (EFAD), Expertise France, Fédération Nationale des Éditeurs de Films, Federation Studios, Festival de Cannes, Festival Séries Mania, FICAM, Film Heritage Foundation, Films du Losange, Fubon Educational and Cultural Foundation, Galaxy Studio, Gaumont, Gaumont Télévision, GLOBO, HTC, I Wonder Pictures, Illumination Studios Paris, International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas (CICAE), International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), JP Morgan, KawanKawan Media, Kinepolis Group, La Cinémathèque du Documentaire, La Fémis, Letterboxd,  Liquid XO, Mediawan, Misr International Films, mk2 Group, National Federation of French Cinemas (FNCF), NAVER, NEXON Korea, Nisaba Institution for Moving Images, Nomadis Image, North Road, Pathé Cinémas, Pathé Films, PHI Centre, Rothschild & Co, San Sebastian Film Festival, SLL, Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (SACEM), Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers (SACD), Sorbonne Nouvelle University, Studios de Bry, Sud Écriture, Sunuy Films, Syndicat de la Production indépendante (SPI), The Society of Film Directors (SRF), The Originals Group (TOG), Toronto International Film Festival, Unifrance, TVING, USC School of Cinematic Arts, Vietnam Film Promotion and Development Association, Vuelta, Webedia Éléphant, Xilam Animation.   

Public personalities  

Howard A. Rodman, Nabil Ayouch, Julie Bertuccelli, Céline Calvez, Angèle Diabang, Laurence Farreng, July Jung, Denis Masséglia, Tarik Saleh