Music superstars Lenny Kravitz, Billie Eilish and H.E.R. will team with advocacy nonprofit Global Citizen for a free concert in front of the Eiffel Tower designed to convince world leaders to take further action against climate change.
“Power Our Planet: Live in Paris” is set for June 22 to coincide with the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact, a gathering of the world’s political and business leaders to help developing nations finance sustainability projects.
Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans says the summit is an opportunity for governments and global banks to collaborate to jump start climate projects stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic. He hopes “Power Our Planet” will encourage leaders to take advantage of that opportunity and provide the $16.7 billion in outstanding climate financing promised in 2009 to lower-income countries. He is also seeking to advance reforms at the World Bank to make up to $1 trillion in additional financing available.
“Global leaders and democratically elected governments really only respond to the momentum of their people and summits like this can come and go,” Evans told The Associated Press. “If it doesn’t achieve its goal, we’re going to miss the window this year to make the climate negotiations the success, which is even more important after last year’s complete failure in Egypt.”
The Eiffel Tower event is part of the Global Citizen initiative, announced last month at the Global Citizen NOW conference in New York, supporting Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley's call to rewrite the rules of global development banks and relieve the debts of lower-income countries to increase funding for climate adaptation projects.
Global Citizen has shown for years, especially with its A-list concerts in New York's Central Park, that it can generate action by having cultural leaders mobilize their supporters. And artists like Kravitz plan to motivate fans to “act today to save tomorrow.”
“The next generation are inheriting a planet that’s being devastated by climate change,” Kravitz said in a statement. “We have the power to change things with our voices and our actions.”
French President Emmanuel Macron supports the Global Citizen event, citing the need for “a world with more solidarity.”
“Crises are multiplying and the number of those who place their hope in peace and multilateralism will only grow if we, as a global community, demonstrate that we are there to help the most vulnerable,” Macron said in a statement. “Because there will be no climate transition worldwide if we don’t fight for more justice and equity.”
Major philanthropic organizations -- including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Rotary International, and Open Society Foundations – as well as the public-private partnership Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, will also support the effort.
“Power Our Planet: Live in Paris,” which will also include performances from Finneas, Jon Batiste, and Ben Harper, will be livestreamed on Global Citizen’s social media platforms, while Amazon Music will host the livestream on its Twitch channel.
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