Coldplay, Nile Rogers Back Poverty And Climate Change Petition
Coldplay, Nile Rogers, Billie Eilish, Duran Duran and Adam Lambert are among the high-profile musicians to have signed an open letter urging world leaders to take action on the pressing affairs of extreme poverty and climate change.
The letter was launched by Global Citizen at their inaugural “thought leadership summit”, Global Citizen NOW, which took place yesterday (22 May) in New York City. It comes as part of their yearlong End Extreme Poverty NOW – Our Future Can’t Wait campaign.
Other names to sign the letter include Shawn Mendes, Charlie Puth, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Alessia Cara, Billy Porter, Chloe x Halle, Cyndi Lauper, Duran Femi Kuti, Hugh Jackman, Måneskin and Ricky Martin.
Our future can’t wait. That’s why we’re at #GlobalCitizenNOW calling for change to break systemic barriers, take climate action, empower adolescent girls, and defend advocacy. Sign the open letter to call on our leaders to #EndExtremePovertyNOW: https://t.co/TedY3WQOVU pic.twitter.com/7lkJBu5Axe
— Global Citizen ⭕ (@GlblCtzn) May 22, 2022
The letter calls on billionaires, industry magnates, leaders of wealthy countries (such as those in the G7 and G20), and other people with significant influence “to step up by fully committing the funding necessary to tackle the challenges we face”.
The letter continues: “We need to improve opportunities for girls around the world, address the systemic barriers that keep people in poverty, and halt the climate crisis. But we can only succeed at addressing these issues by eliminating the barriers that have prevented us to end extreme poverty and committing to financing levels that will allow for real sustainable progress and not just a temporary fix.”
“The poorest people on our planet continue to suffer,” the open letter goes on. “They lack access to food, health care, and education. They deal with the realities of climate change – unending drought in some places, flooding, and rising sea levels in others. They are unable to put food on the table, unable to access basic medicines and health care, unable to access financing or equity, and therefore unable to offer their children a better future.”
Coldplay and Eilish both appeared at last year’s Global Citizen live steam in New York.