Billie Eilish calls for ‘urgent action’ ahead of UN climate conference

Billie Eilish has called for world leaders to take “urgent action” on climate change, ahead of the United Nations’ 2021 Climate Change Conference, which is set to begin in Glasgow later this week.

The singer has long been outspoken about the climate crisis, leading support for Joe Biden’s climate protection bill, and starring in YouTube’s climate documentary Dear Earth earlier this month. In the new video campaign, created in collaboration with Arctic Basecamp and the University of Exeter, she’s also joined by actor Rainn Wilson, air pollution activist Daze Aghaji, and more.

“This year our leaders are deciding the global actions required on the environment climate emergency in a critical decade for our planet,” Eilish says in her statement. “We must stand together and speak up to save our planet, not just for us, but for our future generations, and we need urgent, urgent action now and to work together as one.”

Aghaji also notes that “this decade is crucial for our world”, adding: “We need to stand together, muster up the might and have the courage to fight for our earth and our communities… We need action. We deserve action. And we are brave enough to get it.”

Running from October 31 to November 12, the COP26 summit promises to “bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change”.

Back in August — in the wake of a damning climate report from the IPCC — youth activists told Dazed that immediate action is necessary to “rapidly and drastically reduce emissions” and keep global warming below the two degrees Celsius suggested in the Paris Agreement.

“It is more important than ever to strengthen our societies and economies in line with the Paris Agreement to determine what the future of our planet will look like,” said Lara Werner, a Germany-based climate activist, at the time. “World leaders at COP26 must take bold and collaborative action guided by the deep urgency of the IPCC report.”

Watch the messages shared by Billie Eilish, Rainn Wilson, and Daze Aghaji via the University of Exeter’s posts below.