In a joint open letter, 31 celebrities have lent their voice to the efforts of the action/2015 campaign, which calls on local and world leaders to take urgent action to alleviate poverty and mitigate climate change.
The letter names 2015 as the most important year in global decision making since the start of the new millennium, citing the upcoming UN meetings on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate change in September and December 2015, respectively.
15 January 2015: In a joint open letter, 31 celebrities have lent their voices to the action/2015 campaign, which calls on local and world leaders to take urgent action to alleviate poverty and mitigate climate change. The letter names 2015 as the most important year in global decision-making since the start of the new millennium, citing the UN summit on the post-2015 development agenda, and UN climate change conference, in September and December 2015, respectively.
The open letter notes the need to scale and advance action on climate change at a much greater speed and to pair the SDGs with financing and implementation agreements. The signatories describe their fear that “leaders could be sleep-walking the world towards one of the greatest failures of recent history.” However, they state that it is not too late to rise to the occasion and highlight past successes of global cooperation against AIDS, malaria, preventable diseases and the hole in the ozone layer.
action/2015 has brought together the UN Foundation, non-governmental/civil society organizations, Nobel prize laureates, celebrities and individuals worldwide to campaign for ambitious decisions by world leaders in 2015. Signatories to the letter include, Ben Affleck, Bill Gates, Bono, Desmond Tutu, Hugh Jackman, Jody Williams, Malala Yousafzai, Mary Robinson, Matt Damon, Melinda Gates, Mia Farrow, Ricken Patel, Shakira, Ted Turner and Yvonne Chaka Chaka. [action/2015 Press Release] [UNFCCC Press Release] [action/2015 Open Letter to World Leaders]