By Eoin Higgins | Common Dreams
Over 200 artists and scientists issued a demand to world leaders that the planet's leaders do not attempt to “go back to normal” after the coronavirus pandemic passes, calling for substantive and swift action to address the climate crisis, consumerism, and economic inequality in the wake of the crisis.
“Adjustments are not enough,” the group says in a letterΒ publishedΒ Wednesday in France'sΒ Le MondeΒ newspaper. “The problem is systemic.”
"We believe it is unthinkable to 'go back to normal'."
200 stars & scientists unite to call for change post #COVID19. They're asking us to rethink our economies & consumption habits for the health of people & planet.πβ¨
Read the letter via @lemondefrπhttps://t.co/cICngHOCLO
— UN Biodiversity (@UNBiodiversity) May 6, 2020
The letter, written by actress Juliette Binoche and astrophysicist AurΓ©lien Barrau, calls for a “radical transformation” in how the world works and to address the oncoming climate crisis with the urgency it deserves. The letter was signed by artists and activists like Javier Bardem,Β Naomi Klein,Β Vandana Shiva,Β Barbra Streisand, Joaquin Phoenix, and StingΒ as well as scientists and economists like Carlo Rovelli, Muhammad Yunus, and Xuan Thuan Trinh.
As the letter explains:
The ongoing ecological catastrophe is a meta-crisis: the massive extinction of life on Earth is no longer in doubt, and all indicators point to a direct existential threat. Unlike a pandemic, however severe, a global ecological collapse will have immeasurable consequences.
“Pollution, climate change, and the destruction of our remaining natural zones have brought the world to a breaking point,” says the letter.
Read the letter in full and the list of signatories below:
Please, letβs not go back to normal
The Covid-19 pandemic is a tragedy. This crisis is, however, inviting us to examine what is essential. And what we see is simple:Β adjustmentsΒ are not enough. The problem is systemic.
The ongoing ecological catastrophe is a meta-crisis: the massive extinction of life on Earth is no longer in doubt, and all indicators point to a direct existential threat. Unlike a pandemic, however severe, a global ecological collapse will have immeasurable consequences.
We therefore solemnly call upon leadersβand all of us as citizensβto leave behind the unsustainable logic that still prevails and to undertake a profound overhaul of our goals, values, and economies.
The pursuit of consumerism and an obsession with productivity have led us to deny the value of life itself: that of plants, that of animals, and that of a great number of human beings. Pollution, climate change, and the destruction of our remaining natural zones has brought the world to a breaking point.
For these reasons, along with the urgency of renewing with a politics of social equity, we believe it is unthinkable toΒ go back to normal. The radical transformation we needβat all levelsβdemands boldness and courage. It will not take place without a massive and determined commitment. We must act now. It is as much a matter of survival as of dignity and coherence.
Lynsey Addario,Β grand reporterΒ ;Β Isabelle Adjani,Β actress ;Β Roberto Alagna,Β opera singer ;Β Pedro Almodovar,Β film director ;Β Santiago Amigorena,Β writer ;Β AngΓ¨le,Β singer ;Β Adria Arjona,Β actress;Β Yann Arthus-Bertrand,Β photographer, film director;Β Ariane Ascaride,Β actress ;Β Olivier Assayas,Β film director ;Β Josiane Balasko,Β actress ;Β Jeanne Balibar,Β actress ;Β Bang Hai Ja,Β painter;Β Javier Bardem,Β actor ;Β AurΓ©lien Barrau,Β astrophysicist, honorary member of the Institut universitaire de FranceΒ ;Β Mikhail Baryshnikov,Β dancer, choreographerΒ ;Β Nathalie Baye,Β actress ;Β Emmanuelle BΓ©art,Β actress ;Β Jean Bellorini,Β theater director ;Β Monica Bellucci,Β actress ;Β Alain Benoit,Β physicist, AcadΓ©mie des sciencesΒ ;Β Charles Berling,Β actor ;Β Juliette Binoche,Β actress ;Β Benjamin Biolay,Β singer ;Β Dominique Blanc,Β actressΒ ;Β Cate Blanchett,Β actressΒ ;Β Gilles BΕuf,Β former president of the National Museum of Natural HistoryΒ ;Β ValΓ©rie Bonneton,Β actress ;Β Aurelien Bory,Β theater directorΒ ;Β Miguel BosΓ©,Β actor, singer ;Β StΓ©phane Braunschweig,Β theater director ;Β StΓ©phane BrizΓ©,Β filmdirector ;Β Irina Brook,Β theater director ;Β Peter Brook,Β theater director ;Β Valeria Bruni Tedeschi,Β actress, film director ;Β Khatia Buniatishvili,Β pianistΒ ;Β Florence Burgat,Β former president of the National Museum of Natural History;Β Guillaume Canet,Β actor, film director ;Β Anne Carson,Β poet, writer, Academy of Arts and SciencesΒ ;Β Michel CassΓ©,Β astrophysicist ;Β Aaron Ciechanover,Β Nobel Prize in ChemistryΒ ;Β FranΓ§ois Civil,Β actorΒ ;Β FranΓ§ois Cluzet,Β actor ;Β Isabel Coixet,Β film director ;Β Gregory Colbert,Β photographer, film director ;Β Paolo Conte,Β singer ;Β Marion Cotillard,Β actress ;Β Camille Cottin,Β actress ;Β PenΓ©lope Cruz,Β actress ;Β Alfonso Cuaron,Β film directorΒ ;Β Willem Dafoe, actorΒ ;Β BΓ©atrice Dalle,Β actress ;Β Alain Damasio,Β writer ;Β Ricardo Darin,Β actor ;Β CΓ©cile de France,Β actress ;Β Robert De Niro,Β actor ;Β Annick de Souzenelle,Β writer ;Β Johann Deisenhofer,Β biochemist, Nobel Prize in chemistryΒ ;Β Kate del Castillo,Β actress ;Β Miguel Delibes Castro,Β biologist, Royal Spanish Academy of SciencesΒ ;Β Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota,Β theater directorΒ ;Β Claire Denis,Β film director ;Β Philippe Descola,Β anthropologist, CNRS gold medalΒ ;Β Virginie Despentes,Β writer ;Β Alexandre Desplat,Β musicwriter ;Β Arnaud Desplechin,Β film director ;Β Natalie Dessay,Β opera singer ;Β Cyril Dion,Β writer, film director ;Β HervΓ© Dole,Β astrophysicist, honorary member of the Institut universitaire de FranceΒ ;Β Adam Driver,Β actor ;Β Jacques Dubochet,Β Nobel Prize in ChemistryΒ ;Β Diane Dufresne,Β singerΒ ;Β Thomas Dutronc,Β singerΒ ;Β Lars Eidinger, actor ;Β Olafur Eliasson,Β plastic artist, sculptorΒ ;Β Marianne Faithfull, singerΒ ;Β Pierre Fayet,Β member of the Academy of SciencesΒ ;Β Abel Ferrara,Β film director ;Β Albert Fert, Physicβs Nobel PrizeΒ ;Β Ralph Fiennes,Β actor ;Β Edmond Fischer,Β biochemist, Nobel Prize in medicineΒ ;Β Jane Fonda,Β actress ;Β Joachim Frank,Β Nobel Prize in Chemistry ;Β Manuel Garcia-Rulfo,Β actor ;Β Marie-AgnΓ¨s Gillot,Β prima ballerinaΒ ;Β Amos GitaΓ―,Β film director ;Β Alejandro Gonzales IΓ±arritu,Β film director ;Β Timothy Gowers,Β Fields Mathematics MedalΒ ;Β Eva Green,Β actress ;Β Sylvie Guillem,Β prima ballerina ;Β Ben Hardy,Β actor ;Β Serge Haroche,Β Physicβs Nobel Prize ;Β Dudley R. Herschbach,Β Nobel Prize in ChemistryΒ ;Β Roald Hoffmann,Β Nobel Prize in Chemistry Β ;Β Rob Hopkins,Β founder of cities in transitionΒ ;Β Nicolas Hulot,Β honorary president of the Nicolas Hulot Foundation for Nature and Man ;Β Imany,Β singer ;Β Jeremy Irons,Β actor ;Β AgnΓ¨s Jaoui,Β actor, film director ;Β Jim Jarmusch,Β film director ;Β Vaughan Jones,Β Fields Mathematics MedalΒ ;Β Spike Jonze,Β film director ;Β CamΓ©lia Jordana,Β singer ;Β Jean Jouzel,Β climatologist, Vetlesen PrizeΒ ;Β Anish Kapoor,Β sculptor, painterΒ ;Β Naomi Kawase,Β film directorΒ ;Β Sandrine Kiberlain,Β actress ;Β AngΓ©lique Kidjo,Β singer ;Β Naomi Klein,Β writer ;Β Brian Kobilka,Β Nobel Prize in ChemistryΒ ;Β Hirokazu Kore-eda,Β film director ;Β Panos Koutras, film director ;Β Antjie Krog,Β poetessΒ ;Β La Grande Sophie,Β singer ;Β Ludovic Lagarde,Β theater director;Β MΓ©lanie Laurent,Β actressΒ ;Β Bernard Lavilliers,Β singer ;Β Yvon Le Maho,Β ecophysiologist, member of the French Academy of SciencesΒ ;Β Roland Lehoucq,Β astrophysicistΒ ;Β Gilles Lellouche,Β actor, film director ;Β Christian Louboutin,Β designer ;Β Roderick MacKinnon,Β Nobel Prize in ChemistryΒ ;Β Madonna,Β singer ;Β Macha MakeΓ―eff,Β theater director ;Β Claude MakΓ©lΓ©lΓ©,Β soccer playerΒ ;Β Ald Al Malik,Β rap artist ;Β Rooney Mara,Β actress ;Β Ricky Martin,Β singer ;Β Carmen Maura,Β actress ;Β Michel Mayor,Β Physicβs Nobel Prize Β ;Β MΓ©dine,Β rap artist ;Β Melody Gardot,Β singer ;Β Arturo Menchaca Rocha, physicist, former president of the Mexican Academy of SciencesΒ ;Β Raoni Metuktire, Raoni Indian ChiefΒ ;Β Julianne Moore, actress ;Β Wajdi Mouawad, theater director, writer ;Β GΓ©rard Mouroux,Β Physicβs Nobel PrizeΒ ;Β Nana Mouskouri,Β singer ;Β Yael Naim,Β singer ;Β Jean-Luc Nancy,Β philosopherΒ ;Β Guillaume NΓ©ry,Β freediving world championΒ ;Β Pierre Niney,Β actor ;Β MichaΓ«l Ondaatje,Β writer ;Β Thomas Ostermeier,Β theater director ;Β Rithy Panh,Β film director ;Β Vanessa Paradis,Β singer, actress ;Β James Peebles,Β Physicβs Nobel Prize Β ;Β Corine Pelluchon,Β philosopher ;Β Joaquin Phoenix,Β actorΒ ;Β Pomme,Β singerΒ ;Β Iggy Pop,Β singer;Β Olivier Py,Β theater director ;Β Radu Mihaileanu,Β film director ;Β Susheela Raman, singerΒ ;Β Edgar Ramirez,Β actor ;Β Charlotte Rampling,Β actress ;Β RaphaΓ«l,Β singerΒ ;Β Eric Reinhardt, writerΒ ;Β Residente,Β singer;Β Jean-Michel Ribes,Β film director ;Β Matthieu Ricard,Β buddhist monkΒ ;Β Richard Roberts,Β Nobel Prize in MedicineΒ ;Β Isabella Rossellini,Β actress ;Β Cecilia Roth,Β actress ;Β Carlo Rovelli,Β physicist, honorary member of the Institut universitaire de FranceΒ ;Β Paolo Roversi,Β photographer ;Β Ludivine Sagnier,Β actress ;Β Shaka PonkΒ (Sam et Frah), singers ;Β Vandana Shiva,Β philosopher, writerΒ ;Β Abderrahmane Sissako,Β film director ;Β Gustaf Skarsgard,Β actor ;Β Sorrentino Paolo,Β film director;Β Sabrina Speich,oceanographer, Albert Defant medalΒ ;Β Sting,Β singer ;Β James Fraser Stoddart,Β Nobel Prize in ChemistryΒ ;Β Barbra Streisand,Β singer, actress, film director ;Β Malgorzata Szumowska,Β film director ;Β BΓ©la Tarr,Β film director;Β Bertrand Tavernier,Β film director ;Β Alexandre Tharaud,Β pianist ;Β James ThierrΓ©,Β theater director, dancer;Β MΓ©lanie Thierry,Β actress ;Β Tran Anh Hung, film director ;Β Jean-Louis Trintignant,Β actorΒ ;Β Karin Viard,Β actress ;Β Rufus Wainwright,Β singer ;Β Lulu Wang,Β film director ;Β Paul Watson,Β Navigator, writer ;Β Wim Wenders,Β film director ;Β Stanley Whittingham,Β Nobel Prize in ChemistryΒ ;Β Sonia Wieder-Atherton,Β violoncellist ;Β Frank Wilczek,Β Physicβs Nobel PrizeΒ ;Β Olivia Wilde,Β actress ;Β Christophe Willem,Β singerΒ ;Β Bob Wilson,Β theater director;Β Lambert Wilson,Β actorΒ ;Β David Wineland,Β Physicβs Nobel PrizeΒ ;Β Xuan Thuan Trinh,Β astrophysicistΒ ;Β Muhammad Yunus,Β economist, Nobel Peace PrizeΒ ;Β Zazie,Β singer.
