Kofi Annan launches ‘Beds Are Burning’ Global Musical Petition to demand climate justice with Melanie Laurent and Havas Worldwide CEO, David Jones & The:Hours

PARIS (1 October 2009) – Kofi A. Annan, President of the Global Humanitarian Forum, was today joined by Melanie Laurent (star of Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglorious Basterds’) and David Jones (Global CEO, Havas Worldwide) for the launch of a specially re-recorded version of Midnight Oil’s ‘Beds are Burning’ as a global musical petition to demand climate justice at the UN’s Copenhagen Climate Change Summit in December. The song is also set to become the soundtrack of the Climate Justice movement.

‘Beds Are Burning’ was produced by The:Hours, and is to be made available on all major music download platforms for free. It will also be available on the campaign’s own website: www.timeforclimatejustice.org.

The song has been supported by over 60 international music stars and celebrities including Duran Duran, Mark Ronson, Jamie Cullum, Melanie Laurent, Marion Cotillard, Milla Jovovich, Fergie, Lily Allen, Manu Katche, Bob Geldof, Youssou N’Dour, Yannick Noah and many more.

Every download will count as a unique digital petition with people adding their names to demand world leaders reach an ambitious, fair and global deal at the UN Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen. Already, more than 1.3 million people have signed up to the campaign.

The Global Humanitarian Forum’s ‘Tck Tck Tck; Time for Climate Justice’ campaign was created by Havas Worldwide and was launched earlier this year at the 56th Cannes International Advertising Festival.

Climate justice has, at its heart, the principle that emissions have a price and greenhouse gas emitters must pay. The countries, and peoples, who are suffering the worst impact of climate change – both now and in the future – have done the least to cause it.

Mr Annan said:

“Climate change is the greatest humanitarian challenge facing mankind today. And it is a challenge that has a grave injustice at its heart. It is the major developed economies of the world which contribute the overwhelming majority of global greenhouse emissions. But it is the poorer and least developed nations that are hit hardest by its impact.

“This is, I believe, a critical moment in the campaign to mobilise people around the world to demand climate justice. Already, over 1 million people have signed up to our ‘Tck Tck Tck: Campaign for Climate Justice.’

“By downloading ‘Beds Are Burning’ for free from major music download platforms on the internet, people from around the world will be adding their names to this growing global petition – joining the campaign for climate justice and becoming a climate ally.

“This will be the first time ever that a musical petition has been created to demand decisive action from our world leaders.  I believe it can become the Band Aid for the internet generation. Together, we can create such a noise that our leaders will not be able to ignore it when they meet in Copenhagen this December to agree a new post-Kyoto climate agreement.  Good leaders are also good followers.”

Mr Annan was joined at the launch by Melanie Laurent, star of Quentin Tarantino’s latest blockbuster, ‘Inglorious Basterds’. Ms Laurent said:

“The next Kyoto agreement is hugely important to get right because the last one got it so wrong.

“The single greatest contribution to the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is not the burning of fossil fuels by the transport sector, nor is it industrial pollution, it is deforestation. The one provision of the original Kyoto proposal that may have helped this situation that wealthy countries would be able to offset their carbon footprint by paying poorer countries to maintain their forests, was derailed, and the forests have been burning since.

“I’m supporting Kofi Annan’s initiative and hope this song will be heard by as many people as possible in the world before Copenhagen. This campaign will help secure a better future for our planet and upcoming generations. The time has come.”

David Jones, Global CEO of Havas Worldwide the network who created the campaign for Mr Annan’s Global Humanitarian Forum said:
“Our industry excels at changing people’s behavior. I believe that we have not only an opportunity but also an obligation to use our creativity to address some of the biggest issues facing the world.

“To get a meaningful outcome at Copenhagen requires everyone putting pressure on their leaders to agree on a fair post-Kyoto deal. This is precisely the aim of the campaign, and the advertising and marketing communities have a crucial role to play.”

Alexandre Sap, CEO of The:Hours, who assembled the artists and produced the soundtrack said:

“Music is the universal language, capable of transcending cultures, generations, religions and races. A song or an artist truly has the power to translate a message or a movement more than any politician or world leader can on a global scale.

“This is why we believe that by producing a song for Mr. Kofi Annan and the ‘Tck Tck Tck: Time for Climate Justice’ campaign, we will be creating a voice for all of us who deserve to have a say leading up to Copenhagen in December. The goal is to draw enough attention to an event that will affect everyone’s lives on the planet.”

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