The word “cake” appeared 10 times more often than terms relating to the climate crisis on UK television in 2020. Use of the terms “climate change” and “global warming” dropped by 10% and 19% respectively compared to 2019.

The word “dog” was, on the other hand, 20 times more common in TV shows. Similarly, the terms “beer garden” and “banana bread” were said more often than “wind” or “solar.”

The count was conducted by the albert project, which works for sustainability in television and film, and is supported by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

And, according to the study, titled Subtitles to Save The World, the pandemic has inevitably had an effect on TV content.

In 2020, for example, the terms “lockdown” and “covid” were, unsurprisingly, ubiquitous in television shows. Filming was also disrupted due to various restrictions, forcing TV stations to rely more heavily on repeats and archive footage.

Another factor to consider is that Albert’s report – based on the analysis of subtitles from almost 400,000 shows screened on the UK’s BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, UKTV and Sky channels – did not take into account news broadcasts.

Still, given the widespread reach of such shows, the fact that words such as “cake” and “dog” top the list of most-mentioned words, to the detriment of climate-related topics, raises questions, the report points out.

“People in the UK are aware that we face a climate crisis, but we can struggle to believe it’s solvable. We find it hard to engage in solutions and action.

“We’re stuck – and we need new stories to help fire up our collective imagination and move us towards action. The words we use and the ideas we evoke can help spark change,” explains Nicky Hawkins, director of communications at On Road Media, a charity working with the albert project.