Artists have
been out in force, making their voices heard at the United Nations Climate
Change Conference (COP 21) which began Nov. 30 in Paris, France, and runs until
Dec. 11.
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| Singer Angelique Kidjo (photo: McKenzie) |
Urging
governments to take effective action and reach a global accord, personalities
such as Angelique Kidjo, Alec Baldwin, Robert Redford and Adrian Grenier have
spoken out at various events, giving their support to indigenous peoples, small
island states and other vulnerable communities.
“Success for
this conference will be action,” said Benin-born singer Kidjo, who participated
in a high-profile symposium titled Earth to Paris that gathered diverse global coalitions.
“Talk is
cheap,” she added. “When I go back to my continent, I see how the farmers are
struggling. I see the effects of climate change. People aren’t able to produce
or eat what they used to.”
Kidjo told
SWAN that for her, art and activism are linked. “Before you’re an artist,
you’re a human being, and what happens around you affects your art,” she said.
“For me to speak about climate change and the rights of children and women is a
natural thing.”
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| Actor Alec Baldwin (left) with Maya activist Christine Coc and United Nations rep Aaron Sherinian (photo: McKenzie) |
She said that
art and activism “nourish and enrich each other”.
American
actor Alec Baldwin also spoke at Earth to Paris, alongside indigenous activist Christine Coc of Belize, who described the struggles of the Maya people to get recognition for their culture, traditions, lands and ecological
achievements.
“Earth is our
mother, and you don’t destroy your mother, you don’t sell your mother,” said
Coc, who received the Equator Prize in Paris -
an award to recognize those who work to advance innovative solutions
for people, nature and resilient communities.
“No amount of money in this world can give us back clean water when it's poisoned. No amount of money in this world can give us back clean air when we need to breathe and live," Coc said. "Our struggle is for our children, for the future generation."
Baldwin,
joking that he would campaign for Coc as president, said it was important for
artists to learn about global issues and to use their art to help educate and
inform others. "I want the awareness to spread," he said.
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| Actor Robert Redford at UNESCO (photo: McKenzie) |
Earlier, legendary
American actor Robert Redford discussed his environmental activism at a
separate, public event, held at the Paris headquarters of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
In an onstage
conversation with Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) which co-organized the event with UNESCO, Redford said that “effective
storytelling can overcome cynicism” and help to change minds.
He joined
indigenous peoples’ representatives Mundiya Kepenga of Papua New Guinea, Mina
Setra of Indonesia, and poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner of the Marshall Islands to
send a message that the rights of these groups should be taken into account
when governments agree on the binding document to combat climate change and limit
global warming.
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| Activists from indigenous groups and small island states speak at UNESCO |
“I’m not a
politician,” Redford said. “I think I can classify myself as a storyteller.
Telling stories and supporting other people to tell stories is the core of what
I do. One of the reasons why I am in Paris is to draw attention to indigenous
cultures and to their values; to say why we need to pay attention to them, why
we need to recognize how vulnerable they are because of climate change. They
are probably the most vulnerable of all. They need our help now and fast.”
Although
Redford was supposed to be the star of the UNESCO event, traditional leader
Kepenga stole the show, presenting his own “little film” - as he termed it -
about the ravages of climate change and industry-led deforestation on his
community.
Setra, a
long-time campaigner, meanwhile gave an emotional account of how monoculture
plantations have affected the lives of indigenous people, and Jetnil-Kijiner
performed poetry that highlighted the stakes of a half-degree rise in global
temperatures.
Small island
states, at risk of rising sea levels, would particularly like to see an
agreement to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, in contrast to
the previous goal of keeping such temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius.
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| Actor and activist Adrian Greier (photo: McKenzie) |
On the waste
front, actor and filmmaker Adrian Grenier issued a call for individuals to
reduce their waste and to help protect the oceans. “I would like to see name
tags on the waste that people generate, so that when you see all those plastic
bottles popping up in the ocean it would have the names of the people
responsible,” Grenier said at Earth to Paris.
Shortly before
arriving in the French city, the actor launched his Lonely Whale Foundation, to
promote education and awareness about issues affecting marine life and the
“health” of the world’s oceans. Grenier said the creation of the foundation was
inspired by the story of the 52 Hertz Whale, a mammal that has spent its whole
life alone.
One of the
high points of the various COP side events, including Earth to Paris, was
hearing Kidjo sing. At the request of UNICEF’s Executive Director Tony Lake,
Kidjo - a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador - performed a short a cappella song, to
the delight of participants in the Earth to Paris conference.
“Music is a
way of speaking up,” she told SWAN afterwards. “Music is a weapon of peace.” –
A.M.
