A wide-ranging group of artists including Camila Cabello, Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Anitta, Billie Eilish and more have signed an urgent letter to major entertainment companies asking them to demand congressional climate action.
“Climate change has arrived on our doorstep: California is on fire, record-breaking and deadly storms are flooding New York City, hurricanes are devastating the Gulf. This summer alone, nearly one in every three people in the United States experienced an extreme weather event, “read the letter aimed at the CEOs of Warner Music Group, Alphabet (Google, YouTube), Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Comcast, Discovery, Facebook, Fox, Netflix, Sony, ViacomCBS, Vivendi (Universal Music Group) and Walt Disney.
“Scientists warn that if we fail to act now, every single one of us will feel the impacts, a billion people will be displaced, and low-income people and communities of color will continue to be hit first and worst,” the letter continued. “Right now, we have a critical window of opportunity to do something about it. And we need all hands on deck to demand that our leaders protect the people we love and the places they live before it’s too late.”
The artists have joined forces with the NRDC Action Fund in an effort to urge the CEOs to use their voices and call on Congress to pass the most ambitious climate change plan in U.S. history this fall, President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.
In a statement, Cabello — who initiated the effort along with the NRDC — said, “Climate change is threatening our communities and future — the time to act is now to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Entertainment companies have the opportunity to show leadership and push Congress to enact bold action on climate. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to protect our communities, create a just transition away from fossil fuels, and create millions of new jobs.”
Read the full text of the letter here.
Other celebrities who’ve signed include J.J. Abrams, Jack Antonoff, Troian Bellisario, Greg Berlanti, Cate Blanchett, Benny Blanco, Dove Cameron, Alessia Cara, Don Cheadle, Glenn Close, Jacob Collier, Lily Collins, James Corden, Ellen DeGeneres, Cara Delevingne, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chris Evans, Jimmy Fallon, Finneas, Selena Gomez, Conan Gray, Todrick Hall, Hugh Jackman, Jimmy Kimmel, Joey King, Liza Koshy, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Adam Levine, Dave Burd aka Lil Dicky, Kevin Liles, Dua Lipa, Lorde, Chuck Lorre, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Demi Lovato, Shawn Mendes, Idina Menzel, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sean Penn, Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Porter, Zachary Quinto, Addison Rae, Robert Redford, Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ronson, Kyra Sedgwick, Shakira, Lilly Singh, Troye Sivan, Barbra Streisand, Wes Studi, Ryan Tedder, Justin Timberlake, Kerry Washington, Sigourney Weaver, Shailene Woodley and Calum Worthy.
After a summer when almost one in every three people in the U.S. experienced an extreme weather event — with low-income people and communities of color being hit first and worst, according to the letter — scientists are warning that if we don’t act now, the worst effects of climate change will become irreversible.
Biden’s Build Back Better agenda will create healthier communities, put millions to work in clean energy jobs, and push to free us from the fossil fuels that are driving climate change, the letter noted. With the influential, powerful entertainment industry’s long tradition of driving social change and leading the charge for more sustainable practices, the signees said Congress needs to hear their demand to pass the administration’s historically ambitious climate change agenda.
“The plan currently before Congress will protect people’s health and clean up our drinking water. It will create a just transition away from dirty fossil fuels and create millions of new jobs,” read the letter. “It will protect communities from climate change through investments in clean energy, clean transportation, and infrastructure upgrades. And it will make sure we finally prioritize and invest in the low-income communities and communities of color that are hit hardest by both fossil fuel pollution and climate impacts.”
The letter asks that the leaders demand that members of Congress pass the legislation, with the artists vowing to use their platforms to remind Americans to do the same by tweeting, posting, emailing, calling and using whatever other means they can to make their voices heard.
“These are the tastemakers of our time — and in moments like these they have an opportunity to be the changemakers, too,” said Manish Bapna, president/CEO of the NRDC Action Fund in the statement. “What started as an idea by Camila Cabello has exploded into a clarion call from entertainers overnight to take action. Congress holds in its hands our best chance at combating our biggest environmental challenge yet. We need all hands on deck to make sure they seize it, and these industry leaders can play a critical role in making sure that they do.”
