May 27, 2020

Pathway to Paris: World Environment Day Virtual Festival for Our Planet

Arundhati Roy, Patti Smith, Michael Stipe, Angelique Kidjo, amongst other musicians, performers, grassroots activists, and thought leaders joining together to chart a path forward for humanity.

On World Environment Day, June 5, Pathway to Paris and 350.org are jointly hosting a global online broadcast that will lift up calls for a just recovery – and show us how we can move forward together in confronting the COVID-19 and the climate crisis.  350.org, alongside hundreds of other organizations, have laid out 5 Principles for a Just Recovery, to tackle the twin crises of Covid-19 and climate breakdown.  The concert will also highlight the Pathway to Paris’ 1000 Cities Initiative for Carbon Freedom. 

The 1000 Cities Initiative for Carbon Freedom was launched in 2017 by Pathway to Paris at the United Nations Secretariat as a global solution to turning the Paris Agreement into action. The initiative is based on the idea that if 1000 cities around the world develop and implement ambitious climate action plans that target net-zero and 100% renewable energy, we will achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement and beyond. 

As humanity faces an unknown future, we must recognize the fact that we simply cannot go back to our behavior from before. Both as individuals and as a globe, we are in a time of reflection, and now, more than ever, we have the opportunity to make great change.

We believe this is truly the moment to seize the opportunity for a just recovery and to transition our world fully to 100% renewable energy, lowering our emissions globally to net zero, one city, one community at a time.

The concert is a moment to bring people together collectively to envision the road ahead.

“In the world of music, the best way to improve is through collaboration. This is the same as the critical issue of climate change. We must join together to make this the most ambitious collaboration of our century. We will not be able to implement crucial and challenging solutions to climate change, plastic pollution, and all urgent environmental problems as long as we stand divided. Inseparable from the issue of climate change is the need for world peace, global communication, and an international collaboration unmatched by any event in human history.”– Co-Founder of Pathway to Paris, Jesse Paris Smith

“The Choices being made right now will shape our society for years, if not decades to come. The choices must put people first, and must also accelerate our action against the climate crisis. The remedy for the climate crisis and for COVID-19 recovery can go hand in hand. This is a time to be decisive in saving lives and bold in charting a path to a genuinely healthier and more equitable future through a just recovery. “– Executive Director of 350.org, May Boeve

“We believe the solution to transitioning out of the era of fossil fuels and into a renewable and thriving future lies within transforming our cities and communities. It takes all of us to create a sustainable and just world. Our time is now.”– Co-Founder of Pathway to Paris, Rebecca Foon

“Artists are blessed with the ability to inspire and incite, but in the end it is the people who facilitate change. Pathway to Paris brings these forces together, art and activism. Their events bring to the forefront of our civic duties and the joy and possibilities of unity.” – Patti Smith

For a full list of performers and speakers  https://350.org/virtual-festival-for-our-planet/

For interviews, images, and further information about the concert please contact [email protected] The Virtual Festival will kick off June 5 at 7 pm GMT and run for 4 hours. Supporters around the world will be hosting virtual “watch parties”  The event will be broadcast on Facebook Live. 

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