Inside Global Citizen's Power Our Planet: Live In Paris concert with Billie Eilish, Lenny Kravitz, H.E.R & others

A night that united the Global North and Global South, Power Our Planet: Live in Paris lit up the iconic Champ de Mars on June 22 as climate activists, heads of state, the biggest names in music, and 20,000 global citizens gathered to call for justice on behalf of the world’s climate-vulnerable countries.

Hosted by international advocacy organisation Global Citizen, the event was broadcast and streamed live around the world, rallying people everywhere to hold to account the leaders in Paris, France for the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact, chaired by President Emmanuel Macron.

Power Our Planet: Live in Paris featured Rémy Buisine, Common, Connie Britton, Sabrina Dhowre Elba, Cyril Dion, Danai Gurira, Diane Kruger, Padma Lakshmi, Aïssa Maïga, Berla Mundi, Norman Reedus and Michelle Yeoh.

During an unforgettable acoustic set, which included Your Power, Everything I Wanted and Happier Than Ever, Billie Eilish told the crowd, “I can't even stress it enough — we really need to change our entire system so that the people most affected by the climate crisis get what they need to fight it. So please, join me in demanding action from global leaders. Not in the future, but right now.”

Jon Batiste brought his unparalleled energy to the Power Our Planet stage, with Butterfly and H.E.R. wowed with We Made It and The Journey. In a surprise performance, Jack Harlow performed First Class.

Closing out an unforgettable night, Lenny Kravitz brought the house down with Are You Going to Go My Way and It Ain't Over Til It's Over. 

Watch the concert below:

In a statement shared with TshisaLIVE, Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank, took to the stage alongside co-chair of the Power Our Planet campaign, Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, to announce a fundamental shift in the World Bank’s policies, in light of the effect of the climate crisis on developing countries.

“Today I am proud to announce a new debt pause option for countries suffering in the aftermath of a natural disaster. It gives governments, and leaders like Mia a break from repaying their debts so that they can focus on recovery — they shouldn’t need to worry about paying the bills, and that was made possible because of you.” 

William Ruto, president of Kenya, said, “The joy and the happiness exuded by all of us here, I wish it could be shared around the world. The people of Kenya, Africa and many other parts of the world live in the reality of the new normal.”

“The US may have signed the Paris Agreement years ago, but what good is it putting your name to a piece of paper if you don’t follow through on what it promises?” asked Hugh Evans, co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen.

The Power Our Planet campaign and the Power Our Planet: Live in Paris event were hosted in partnership with the City of Paris, 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.

Go to the website to see how you can take action.

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