From Massive Attack to Billie Eilish and Coldplay, musicians are banding together to address climate change, with varying degrees of success
At Carbon Market Watch, we have investigated the climate impact of mega sporting events. Mega not only in their public appeal but in their climatic impact.
Our reports analysing the carbon footprints of both the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and this summer’s Olympic games highlighted that tournament organisers are conscious of the need to project a climate-friendly public image of their events.
However, the football tournament’s ‘carbon neutral’ claims were washed as green as the grass on the pitch, while the good intentions of Paris organisers were hamstrung by the reality that well-intended and responsible actions are not tenable in the medium to long term for a mass global gathering that requires its participants and audience to congregate in one place, accumulating sky-high air travel emissions and overwhelming the city’s infrastructure.
Singing from the same hymn sheet
The awareness that celebrated cultural events can still be enjoyed and also contribute to the fight against climate change extends also to the pop world.
Although the planet’s climate bandwidth is being filled up to its limits by the polluting activities of globetrotting popstars, such as Taylor Swift who not only tops the charts but also the polluters department, fear not, there are good examples out there.
Megastar musicians such as Massive Attack, Coldplay and Billie Eilish each have a fresh take on how their work can still be enjoyed, with a healthy recognition for its potential contribution to protecting the world around them.
Bristol’s pioneering trip hop collective Massive Attack not only push the boundaries creatively but they are also trailblazing the platinum standard for music festivals and other mega events to follow.
According to a 2022-2023 study by A Greener Future which assessed the carbon footprints of UK and European festivals, the average festival-goer causes 11 kg CO2e per day, and that travel emissions are responsible for 67% of an event’s footprint. Event-specific emissions vary based on the size and capacity of an event, its food, beverages and materials, as well as energy use and whether or not it includes camping arrangements.
Everyone likes a good party, but it need not cost the earth. That was the motivating factor behind Massive Attack’s recent ‘Act 1.5 – Climate Action Accelerator’ festival at Bristol Downs in the UK.
Miniature attack
Unlike the Olympics or the football World Cup that set a target based on internal factors rather than what climate science demands, ‘Act 1.5’ was anchored by the principle of compliance with the 2015 Paris Agreement – signed by 196 parties that committed governmental action to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C relative to pre-industrial levels.
Initiatives included encouraging the 30,000 guests to bring their own reusable cups, food vendors sourced from local postcodes, no waste going to landfill, no car park, ticketing priority to local fans and chartered trains to allow revellers to return to their homes across the south-west of England.
Ideas implemented at the festival were based on a report by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, which was commissioned by the band five years earlier to explore opportunities for significantly reducing emissions associated with live music touring.
In publicising the event, Massive Attack co-founder and vocalist Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja explained the motivation behind their approach, stating that the band were “very aware of the polluting we’ve done”. He also expressed disappointment that the research had not already led to a cultural shift in how organisers planned music festivals.
Del Naja said, “It’s a sector which has a lot to say about climate change, but unfortunately it’s not doing much about it. You don’t need to do another impact report. We don’t need any more pledging. We don’t need to take more public money to do this. It already exists.”
Massive Attack has been transparent that it will record where things didn’t work and what lessons can be learned from this experience. In light of the event’s success, the Act 1.5 Instagram account has teased the possibility of a follow-up concert along the same lines.
“Massive Attack have shown there is a better, more sustainable way to organise a popular event. Organising this festival to be as compatible as possible with 1.5°C is a massive step forward and was missing from the template pursued by Olympic planners,” said CMW’s Benja Faecks who co-authored our ‘Going for green’ report in collaboration with éclaircies, which was recently cited by The Lancet. “I look forward to seeing the results of this event, including the lessons that can be learned for next time, and for the planning of future mega events to draw inspiration from a ‘think 1.5°C’ mindset.”
Coldplay are cool?
Some might joke that Coldplay, the British rock band so many love to hate, emits more unnecessary hot air with each passing album release than is generated touring to promote its “art”.
Love or hate the “most successful group of the 21st century”, to its credit the band is to take an environmentally friendly perspective to its touring, as reflected in the planning of their record-setting ‘Music of the Spheres’ tour.
The UK rockers designed the globe-spanning 156 date tour from the first show on 18 March 2022 in Costa Rica to its finale on 16 November 2024 in New Zealand to be as ‘sustainable and low-carbon as possible’. The tour is guided by the three key principles of reduce, reinvent and restore, with the aim of cutting the tour’s direct emissions by more than 50% compared to the previous tour in 2016-2017.
Emission cutting measures include partnering with companies that offer lower impact solutions for transport and logistics and avoiding the use of fossil fuels “wherever possible”.
The band’s efforts appear to have been successful, achieving – as of June 2024 – a 59% reduction in this tour’s carbon footprint compared to its predecessor, an accomplishment verified by Professor John E Fernández of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who is responsible for assessing the band’s efforts.
Coldplay are also operating a carbon offsetting policy based on the Oxford Offsetting Principle: “where we cannot reduce, we will be drawing down any avoidable emissions following the guidance within the Oxford Principles for Net-Zero Aligned carbon offsetting.”
Unlike the case with other events that have applied tonne-for-tonne equivalence to the carbon credits they purchase as a means to sidestep emissions reductions or to claim misleadingly that they are “carbon neutral”, Coldplay makes no false claims that their concerts are greener because they purchase credits. This is known as ‘beyond value chain mitigation’ and is a progressive model that CMW advocates as a sensible form of climate action for companies to take.
Although the band’s principles are well-intentioned, the initiatives are not without their flaws.
Furthermore, there are plenty of emissions unaccounted for by the band, such as those originating from fan travel that are excluded from direct emission figures. According to data registered by fans on the official tour app, the average carbon footprint per traveller is 48% lower than the previous tour, although this information is unverified.
Coldplay are controlling some of the controllables and for that their efforts deserve praise. However, the mega events still involve a high climate debt that would be avoided with a touring schedule that doesn’t span all corners of the globe – although this would then deprive fans the chance to see their favourite artists play, which is a discussion for society as a whole rather than this article.
Similar issues existed for the Olympic games.
On the plus side, the band has been effective at raising awareness and inspiring their peers to start thinking sustainably. Professor Fernández stated of artists he has spoken to, “the interest and appetite for understanding is pretty good and has exploded over the past three years.”
Generation of hope
There are plenty of lessons to be learned from the highly ambitious Act 1.5 festival and the influential actions of Coldplay. And there is certainly hope on the horizon that the upcoming generation of megastar artists have embraced climate conscious ideals from the start.
Emerging global talent Billie Eilish, cited as the “voice of our generation” is not such a “Bad Guy” when it comes to climate action – quite the opposite.
In parallel with other prominent Gen Z voices, such as climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, Billie Eilish is using her platform to raise awareness of climate change issues and was listed as a Time 100 climate catalyst at the end of 2023.
Unlike either Massive Attack or Coldplay, the 22-year-old does not have reason to repair the damage caused by years of touring prior to an awakening to the necessity for climate action.
As was the case for Coldplay, the star partnered with experts to limit the heaviness of her carbon footprint for the 2022 ‘Happier than Ever’ world tour, implementing a broad range of measures including single-use plastic reduction and elimination, sustainable food and merchandise, and assisting venues to deepen sustainability efforts, while also inspiring over 133,500 fan actions to support social and environmental causes.
However, although not travelling nearly as far as the Coldplay tour, ‘Happier than Ever’ still accumulated plenty of emissions through miles travelled in North America before crossing the Atlantic.
Eilish has taken her efforts one step further instigating the Overheated conference bringing together climate activists, musicians and designers to discuss the climate crisis and their work to make a difference.
The world may not yet be in safe hands and is constantly getting warmer, but by banding together there is hope for your favourite artists to use their cool to influence and accelerate climate action and help cool down the planet.
