Organized by the United Nations Environment Program North America Region along with Pathway to Paris and 350.org, the World Environment Day livestream event will be held on June 4 with appearances from Patti Smith, Michael Stipe, Dave Matthews, Ben Harper, and more. Featuring an array of musicians, the event hopes to bring attention to the ongoing environmental crisis the planet currently faces.
“It is critical that we consider the urgent needs of our planet as we transition back into living our lives and performing concerts again after a year of global quarantining and isolation,” said Jesse Paris Smith, who founded Pathway to Paris with Rebecca Foon. “We simply cannot go back to the way things were before.”
As comeback concerts continue to be announced with returns slated for as early as June and July at both indoor and outdoor music venues, artists are eager to return to stage in front of an audience rather than behind a screen. Other performers in the World Environment Day stream include: Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Rocky Dawuni, Priya Darshini, Tomas Doncker, Jordan Sanchez, Rima Fujita, Tenzin Choegyal, Patrick Watson, and Jackson Smith.
Remaining virtual for this event, Smith and Foon are calling attention to the lasting impact such events can have on the environment, the former saying: “It’s important for us to work together to continuously draw attention to the needs of our suffering planet.”
Smith continued to share in a statement: “So much has been lost due to Covid, an immeasurable amount, and all the while, the climate crisis did not go away; it has always been there underneath the surface, existing every day amongst all of the other destruction and suffering. As we rebuild our world, we must make changes greater than ever before, and transition into a new era which favors our natural and wild places, and focuses deeply on protection and preservation.”
The event will also feature important conversations with figures from each partnering organizer. United Nations Secretary-General Antonia Guterres will make an appearance as well as Pennie Opal Plant and 350.org founder Bill McKibben.
“This couldn’t come at a more crucial moment, as world leaders and oil company investors are finally beginning to understand we need massive and rapid action,” McKibben shared. “We have to get people’s hearts and heads in the right place for fast progress.”
Learn more about World Environment Day global campaign from the United Nations.