By Johnson Thembo Puruka
On 19th. April. 2024 the UN Climate Change announced the global Art Charter for Climate Action (ACCA) that will join its efforts to unite the arts and entertainment sectors in transformative climate action.
The announcement was made at The Hope Forum held during the 60th Venice Biennale international art exhibition – The Charter will become the visual arts pillar of UN Climate Change’s Entertainment & Culture for Climate Action alliance, aiming at accelerating the transition of arts, film, music, and other relevant sectors to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and to inspire climate action beyond the sector through artistic expression and innovation.
“In order to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, it is essential that all sectors take transformative climate action now …. arts and culture play a critical role in inspiring people to imagine and realise a low carbon, just and climate-resilient future”, said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell.
Luise Faurschou, the Director of the non-profit ART 2030 and Steering Committee member of ACCA says, ACCA is an initiative that, for the first time ever, is bringing together the entire visual art sector’s value chain, around the common goal of steering the global industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to net zero.
“Our aim is to be able to assemble our collective learnings, to advocate for our obligation to meet the Paris Agreement, and to implement system changes that directly impact our goals”, explained Luise Faurschou
The Art Charter brings together more than 1,000 members in over 70 countries committed to using creativity, science-based information, and collaboration to create system-wide change. For the visual arts, this means focusing on international freight, energy consumption, packaging and recycling, and digital initiatives. Members include a wide range of public and private actors and organizations worldwide, from individual artists to major museums, commercial entities to not-for-profit organizations.
The ACCA and UN Climate Change announcement was endorsed by Frances Morris, Director Emerita of the Tate Modern, who emphasized that, ACCA can and should be a common framework and network of networks for a green and just transition from all corners of the world, linking grassroots to big shoots.
The founding organizations of the Art Charter are ART 2030, the Gallery Climate Coalition, the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM), and Julie’s Bicycle. Interested stakeholders worldwide are encouraged to join the Art Charter for Climate Action’s Community to accessresources, knowledge, and capacities for collaborative engagement.