COP21: creative community signs open letter from Julie’s Bicycle

In December 2015, a charity called Julie’s Bicycle got a letter together addressed to the COP21 negotiators in Paris. There’s a long list of signatories, and it includes Thom Yorke, Vivienne Westwood, Michael Stipe, Henry Rollins, Chrissie Hynde, Robert Plant, Iggy Pop, Ian MacKaye, David Gilmour, David Bowie, and Björk.

COP21

The letter features points such as demanding “an ambitious commitment to climate action, starting now, that will limit future global warming to below 2.0°C (3.6 °F) relative to pre-industrial levels,” and it makes commitments, like taking action “ourselves to make our businesses and our industries more sustainable, actively managing our impacts,” speaking out “to our audiences and customers, using our creative voices to affect the public narrative and create social consensus for action on climate change and environmental degradation,” and working together “to influence and support policy makers who have the capacity to accelerate positive change, to make the right decisions.”

A lot of these creative folks are no strangers to taking a stand. Thom Yorke signed an open letter to President Obama, and Björk signed on to Amnesty International’s letter in support of Pussy Riot, just to name two examples.

Julie’s Bicycle, according to the website, “was founded by the UK music industry in 2007 to better understand the music industry’s carbon footprint and how to reduce it. Artists and creative organisations across the globe have been rising to this challenge, integrating environmental sustainability into their thinking at all levels.”


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