Paris, New York | May 23, 2023 - Today Global Citizen, the world’s leading international advocacy organization on a mission to end extreme poverty NOW, announced its return to the iconic Champ de Mars in Paris on Thursday, June 22 with ‘Power Our Planet: Live in Paris’. A free, ticketed event, ‘Power Our Planet: Live in Paris’ will feature performances from Lenny Kravitz, Billie Eilish, H.E.R., Jon Batiste and special guests Ben Harper, FINNEAS, and Mosimann to drive commitments from world leaders and the private sector to confront the climate crisis head on. 

Under the high patronage of Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, ‘Power Our Planet: Live in Paris’ will rally global leaders attending the New Financial Pact Summit, chaired by President Macron. The Power Our Planet campaign, which is co-chaired by Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, is calling for a seismic shift in the way the world’s financial systems work to give the world’s poor and developing nations access to the financing they urgently need to quicken their transition to clean energy, strengthen their resilience against natural disasters, and address their most urgent needs.

Global Citizen’s Power Our Planet campaign is galvanizing millions of people around the world to take action, raise their voices and demand urgent changes from governments, Multilateral Development Banks, and major corporations, including: 

• Keep Promises Already Made: Deliver the outstanding $16.7 billion of the committed $100 billion in climate financing for lower-income countries; transfer $100 billion in IMF Special Drawing Rights from wealthy countries to poor countries; increase foreign aid budgets; and enact global carbon emissions taxes.
• Free Up Funding: Make up to $1 trillion in financing available to countries in need through policy reforms at the World Bank and other multilateral development banks; and include natural disaster and pandemic clauses in loans to poorer nations.
• Transition to Clean Energy: Corporations should commit to join the United Nations’ Race-to-Zero by setting science-based targets; publish time-bound action plans for climate transitions; and make transformative investments for a lower-carbon transition in emerging economies.

Increased access to financing would help bolster governments’ ability to resist climate change by, for example: helping 1.5 million farmers in Zambia withstand climate disasters like droughts and floods; protecting 1.8 million hectares of land in Ghana by 2030; ending deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 2030; and strengthening the resilience of national electric grids in island nations like Antigua and Barbuda to withstand Category 5 hurricanes.

‘Power Our Planet: Live in Paris’ will pave the way for this urgent funding to be delivered throughout the year, including at the G20 summit in New Delhi, India in September; the Global Citizen Festival held during the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, USA in September; the IMF and World Bank meetings in October; and culminating at COP28 in Dubai, UAE in November. 

“Our world needs urgent change. Outdated global financial systems are perpetuating the conditions that keep vulnerable countries and their citizens trapped in the cycle of extreme poverty,” said Hugh Evans, Co-founder and CEO, Global Citizen. “We congratulate Ajay Banga on his appointment as President of the World Bank, and there is an urgent and immediate opportunity for him to show leadership the world truly needs.” 

“We need a world with more solidarity. Crises are multiplying and the number of those who place their hope in peace and multilateralism will only grow if we, as a global community, demonstrate that we are there to help the most vulnerable,” said Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic. “Because inequality and poverty are the grounds of today's and tomorrow's wars. Because there will be no climate transition worldwide if we don't fight for more justice and equity. Halfway to the sustainable development objectives, we need a new financial pact between all countries, so that the world of tomorrow is more united.”

“This year – and this summit – are critical for the restoration of justice and equity within the global financial systems that continue to abandon and overlook poor and climate-vulnerable countries,” said Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados. “We need the presence and commitments of world leaders at the New Financial Pact Summit in Paris. I call on leaders of the G7, G20 and wealthy nations across the globe to step up, and let us act together in the interest of our planet and humanity. Join us in Paris.”

“The next generation are inheriting a planet that’s being devastated by climate change,” said Lenny Kravitz. “We have the power to change things with our voices and our actions. Join me on June 22, from wherever you are, and act today to save tomorrow.” 

An alliance of world leaders representing both Global North and Global South countries has joined the Power Our Planet campaign alongside Global Citizen and Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, including supporters Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone; Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain; José Ramos-Horta, President of Timor Leste; Biman Prasad, Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji, the Government of Ghana, the Government of Namibia, the Government of Zambia, and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).  

Power Our Planet’s coalition of supporters also includes leading activists, philanthropic foundations, nonprofit organizations, and private sector leaders, including Dr. Rajiv Shah, President, Rockefeller Foundation; Mark Malloch Brown, President, Open Society Foundations; Benedict Oramah, President of AfreximBank; Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization; Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi; Kate Higgins, CEO, Cooperation Canada; Jennifer Jones, President of Rotary International;  Ban Ki-Moon, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations;  Eloise Todd, Executive Director & Co-Founder, Pandemic Action Network; and Ineza Umuhoza Grace, Co-Founder of the Loss and Damage Youth Coalition and 2023 Global Citizen Prize winner.  

The Power Our Planet campaign is supported by: Aspire Artemis Foundation Inc.; Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens; BASICS International; Beyond Bretton Woods; the Center for Environmental Peacebuilding; Climate Finance Group for Latin America and the Caribbean; Common Good Marketplace; Connected Development; Don't Gas Africa; E3G; Education Cannot Wait: Focus 2030; Germanwatch; Glasgow Actions Team; Global Alliance for a Green New Deal; The Global Fund; The UN Global Fund for Education in Emergencies; Green Republic Farms; Hungry for Action; International Climate Change Development Initiative;  International Climate Financing WG; International Fund for Agricultural Development; Jane Goodall Institute France; Malala Fund; The ONE Campaign; OWIT Brussels – Organization of Women in Trade; Oxfam; Plastic Punch; Power to Girls Foundation; Primavera Zur; Project Everyone; Re:Wild, SDG2 Advocacy Hub; Sustainable Development Solutions Network; Shamba Centre for Food and Climate; She Leads Climate Action; Stage For Change; Strategic Youth Network for Development; Sungulo Comm NPC; Support Humanity Cameroon (SUHUCAM); United Nations Foundation.

The Power Our Planet campaign and the ‘Power Our Planet: Live in Paris’ event is hosted in partnership with the City of Paris, is produced by Live Nation, and supported by Cisco and Citi as well as Afrexim Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Open Society Foundations, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Seadream Family Foundation. ​​A series of thought leadership events focused on driving action from the private sector is being supported by Cisco and Citi. The ‘Power Our Planet: Live in Paris’ broadcast will be produced by Done and Dusted.

‘Power Our Planet: Live in Paris’ will be livestreamed globally across Global Citizen’s platforms on Thursday, June 22. Global Citizen is grateful for the support of leading media companies across the world including: AIM Group, Arena Holdings, Bella Naija, Brut. Media, EIB Network, Vanguard Media, Zikoko, and Amazon Music who will host the livestream on their Twitch channel “Amazon Music on Twitch,” with more streaming and broadcast platforms to be announced.

For more information visit globalcitizen.org/powerourplanet, download the Global Citizen app, and follow Global Citizen on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. 

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