In recognition of the science of climate change and of the devastating climate-related impacts of human activity on human lives, biodiversity and ecosystems around the world, the WGGB declares a climate and ecological emergency. We pledge to work with and support our members in England, Wales and Scotland in tackling this emergency.
These are our intentions:
- We will tell the truth
Governments and the media must tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency and its associated harms. Governments and the media must communicate the urgent need for far-reaching systemic change. We pledge to:
- Encourage our members to promote discussion and understanding and to respond to the climate and ecological emergency through the work that they do and the productions they’re involved with.
- We will take action
Governments must reverse climate-harming policies and enact legally binding policy measures to reduce CO2 emissions to net zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels. We pledge to:
- Recognise and accept the changes that are needed.
- Work towards reducing WGGB’s emissions to zero by 2025 by continuously reviewing and developing our environmental policies and practices.
- Support members by offering access to solutions-based training.
- Promote the use of ‘planet placement’ to help raise awareness of climate change. See www.planetplacement.co.uk
- We are committed to justice
The emergency has arisen from deeply systemic injustices. Writing and performance can imagine and forge shifts in the ways people relate to one another and the world, in values and behaviours. We pledge to:
- Encourage our members to use their privileges, platforms and other resources to amplify the voices of people experiencing climate and environmental injustice and highlight intergenerational harm.
- Acknowledge the social and moral responsibility of writers and creators to reflect the enormity of the climate crisis and the opportunity art gives us to explore, and provide a conduit for the emotional responses it elicits including grief, fear and anger.
Declaration ends
For more information on #CultureDeclaresEmergency, please see the Culture Declares Emergency website.
