Superstar rock band Coldplay used their Twitter power on Saturday to tweet at leaders in Indonesia, Norway, France, and the US to rally support and call for renewed commitments to climate goals. And they even got some replies — in a big way.

Tweeting at Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Norway’s Minister of International Development Dag Inge Ulstein, French President Emmanuel Macron, US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and US Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, Coldplay expressed the urgent need to tackle climate change in the lead-up to Global Citizen Live. The band will perform at the once-in-a-generation, 24-hour global event in New York City on Saturday, Sept. 25, as part of our campaign to defend the planet and defeat poverty.

“.@jokowi, will you join @bankimooncentre and a coalition of Indonesian climate advocates at #GlobalCitizenLive to make a commitment to the planet? Where you lead, others will follow,” the band tweeted.

Coldplay’s call to action echoed the urging of Indonesian climate advocates, who co-signed a letter to President Joko Widodo, widely known throughout the country as Jokowi, to reaffirm Indonesia’s commitments to protecting rainforests from deforestation, investing in renewable energy, and achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

The co-signers of the letter included Adhityani Putri, executive director of Yayasan Indonesia Cerah; Agus Sari, CEO of Landscape Indonesia; Amanda Katili Niode, PhD, country manager of the Climate Reality Indonesia; Bustar Maitar, CEO of Yayasan Ekosistim Nusantara Berkelanjutan (Econusa Foundation); Edo Rakhman, campaign coordinator of Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI Nasional); Elok Faiqotul Mutia, executive director of Energi Terbarukan Untuk Nusantara (Enter Nusantara); Farhan Helmy, principal of Thamrin School of Climate Change and Sustainability; Gracia Paramitha, co-founder of Indonesia Youth Diplomacy (IYD); Irfan Toni Herlambag, Asia digital manager of 350.org Asia; Leonardo Simanjuntak, country director of Greenpeace Indonesia; Nadia Hadad, executive director of Yayasan Madani Berkelanjutan; and Sisilia Nurmala Dewi, team leader of 350.org Indonesia. 

Fadjroel Rachman, a spokesperson for Jokowi, said the president has not yet taken an official stance on Coldplay’s invitation to Global Citizen Live, according to CNN Indonesia, but responded by ensuring the leader’s commitment to climate change. 

"Thank you very much, Coldplay, for the invitation,” Rachman said via text message, according to CNN Indonesia. “President Jokowi has targeted zero carbon emissions by 2060 and supports the global agreement on methane as Indonesia's nationally determined contribution (NDC)."

When Coldplay put the spotlight on Norway, the country’s leaders demonstrated the fantastic potential of global unity. 

“Challenge accepted @coldplay. We are ready for #GlobalCitizenLive! To reduce emissions we must mobilise more capital. Norway will provide a significant amount of funding to our new #Climate Investment Fund for renewable energy in developing countries,” Solberg tweeted in response.

Ulstein, meanwhile, reaffirmed that the world will only achieve the United Nations’ Global Goals if we tackle climate change and poverty at the same time. “See you at Global Citizen Live from Paris,” he added.

In the US, Congress is mulling over ambitious climate targets introduced by the Biden administration that will determine the future of the country’s carbon emissions and its commitments according to the Paris climate agreement, which the US officially rejoined earlier this year. The goals, outlined by a historic $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill, have been a topic of major debate. If passed, the bill would move the country toward clean energy and set the path to a 50% decrease in emissions by 2030.

Through the Global Citizen Live campaign, Global Citizen is calling on the Biden administration to increase US climate financing by committing to reach $40 billion per year through public and private financing. 

France, meanwhile, saw the ravaging effects of climate change last week as “a year’s worth of rain” fell over the span of 12 hours and caused disastrous flooding in the southern region of the country. In 2015, France committed to cutting emissions by 40% by 2030 to meet the Paris climate agreement goal of keeping temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius. And last year, the country put climate action at the heart of its COVID-19 recovery plan.

To stop the climate crisis, however, we need to cut emissions by more than 45% below 2010 levels by 2030, and need $100 billion per year in financing from the world's wealthiest countries to help developing countries’ mitigation and adaptation efforts. 

As the G20 Summit in October and the COP26 climate conference in November quickly approach, international cooperation and renewed commitments are at the forefront of priorities for climate advocates. 

Coldplay, who have long used their international starpower to call for global change, are showing their support for Global Citizen’s Recovery Plan for the World. This isn’t the first time the band has used the lead-up to Global Citizen Live to call for change. In August, they rallied support from Brazilian governors to preserve the environment and move toward climate-conscious adaptation efforts, with several governors then pledging their support.

Defending the planet is one aspect of Global Citizen Live,where we will see a massive call to action, spanning seven continents and bringing together over 70 artists, activists, and leaders in our push for an equitable end to the COVID-19 pandemic, relief for the hunger crisis, protecting the environment, and more. Events and performances will take place in cities across the world, including New York City, Paris, Lagos, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, London, Mumbai, Sydney, and more. 

Coldplay will perform at Global Citizen Live in Central Park along with Billie Eilish, Camila Cabello, Jennifer Lopez, Lizzo, Meek Mill, and Shawn Mendes, with special guest performances by Alessia Cara, Burna Boy, Cyndi Lauper, Jon Batiste, and Lang Lang. 

Tune in on Sept. 25 as we unite the world through music, and join Coldplay in taking action to defend the planet for future generations here.

You can join the Global Citizen Live campaign to defend the planet and defeat poverty by taking action here, and become part of a movement powered by citizens around the world who are taking action together with governments, corporations, and philanthropists to make change.

TopicsClimate ChangeAdvocacyColdplayChris MartinGlobal Citizen LiveClimate CrisisGlobal Citizen Live New York

Advocacy

Defend the Planet

​​Coldplay Just Tweeted at World Leaders in Indonesia, Norway, France, and the US to Defend the Planet

By Kate Nakamura