Today marks 99 days until the 26th Conference of the Parties: an international summit which will see more than 190 global leaders meeting in Glasgow, along with tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses and citizens. They’ll be reviewing progress that has been made towards meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, which was born out of COP21 in Paris in 2015. The Paris Agreement saw countries coming together to agree on what contributions they could each make to help mitigate dangerous global heating, with the aim of keeping global temperature rise well below 2 degrees, and to aim for 1.5 (compared to pre-industrial levels). This can only be achieved by huge reductions in carbon emissions, on a scale that not even the commitments made in Paris are on track to meet.
While this might sound like it’s something for the politicians to sort out, the question of reaching net zero (that is, only emitting as much carbon into the atmosphere as can be removed from it) requires not only decisive political action, but changes to our everyday lives. So, what’s music got to do with it?
As well as enriching our lives by bringing us joy and bringing people together, the arts are hugely important in shaping the way we see the world. And of course, the way we see the world influences our future pathways, or rather, what we see as possible future pathways. When we think of climate change portrayed in popular culture, we might think of films such as Mad Max, or The Day After Tomorrow, depicting opposite dystopias of extreme heat and cold. The underlying narrative presented by such blockbusters is that dangerous climate change is happening, and whether we try to stop it or not, we are on a path towards societal breakdown and chaos.
But what if we held positive visions in mind? Rather than accepting the fatalistic narratives that have become so familiar, what if versions of desirable low-carbon futures became commonplace in our cultural landscape? The songs that I’ve written for my virtual choir project “Finding Our Way” form part of a growing body of music, books and other art forms that offer ideas of futures to aim towards, rather than to steer away from. These positive narratives have a role to play in normalising the lifestyle changes necessary for us to make the journey to net zero. If we can see it, we can be it, as the saying goes…
This is why I am asking people to sing with me in my virtual choir project ahead of COP26. Incorporating visions of positive, low-carbon futures into our arts, music and stories gives us a sense of what might be possible, which helps us to call upon our elected representatives to bring these into being. With time running out for us to be able to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement, COP26 represents a hugely hopeful moment, and an opportunity to change the course of humanity for the better. While music alone isn’t going to get us to net zero, it can help us to feel empowered, inspire us to act, and enable us to take part in a wider shifting of values as we share these positive messages within our communities and with our leaders.
If the messages of any of the four songs in “Finding Our Way” resonate with you, I invite you to join my virtual choir project in singing for a positive future. I’ll be taking submissions until 9th August, 2021, and the songs, guide tracks, sheet music and instructions are all available here. And whether you choose to sing with us or not, one the most impactful things we can do is to talk to others about what we are doing to reduce our carbon emissions and to live more sustainably. Talkclimatechange.org is a great resource with ideas and inspiration if the thought of climate conversations leaves you tongue-tied, with the aim of logging 26,000 conversations before COP26.