Kofi Annan Launches ‘Beds are Burning’ Global Musical Petition to Demand Climate Justice With Melanie Laurent and Havas Worldwide CEO, David Jones & The:Hours

PARIS -

Kofi A. Annan, President of the Global Humanitarian Forum, was today joined by Melanie Laurent (star of Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglourious Basterds’) and David Jones (Global CEO, Havas Worldwide) for the launch of a specially re-recorded version of Midnight Oil’s ‘Beds are Burning’ as a global musical petition to demand climate justice at the UN’s Copenhagen Climate Change Summit in December.

‘Beds Are Burning’ was produced by The:Hours, and is to be made available on all major music download platforms for free. It will also be available on the campaign’s own website: www.timeforclimatejustice.org.

The song has been supported by over 60 international music stars and celebrities including Duran Duran, Mark Ronson, Jamie Cullum, Melanie Laurent, Marion Cotillard, Milla Jovovich, Fergie, Lily Allen, Manu Katche, Bob Geldof, Youssou N’Dour, Yannick Noah and many more.

Every download will count as a unique digital petition with people adding their names to demand world leaders reach an ambitious, fair and global deal at the UN Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen. Already, more than 1.3 million people have signed up to the campaign.

The ‘Tck Tck Tck; Time for Climate Justice’ campaign was created by Havas Worldwide and was launched earlier this year at the 56th Cannes International Advertising Festival.

Mr. Annan said:

“Climate change is the greatest humanitarian challenge facing mankind today. And it is a challenge that has a grave injustice at its heart. It is the major developed economies of the world which contribute the overwhelming majority of global greenhouse emissions. But it is the poorer and least developed nations that are hit hardest by its impact.

“By downloading ‘Beds Are Burning’ for free from major music download platforms on the internet, people from around the world will be adding their names to this growing global petition — joining the campaign for climate justice and becoming a climate ally.

“This will be the first time ever that a musical petition has been created to demand decisive action from our world leaders. I believe it can become the Band Aid for the internet generation.”

At the launch, Melanie Laurent, star of Quentin Tarantino’s latest blockbuster, ‘Inglourious Basterds,’ said:

“The next Kyoto agreement is hugely important to get right because the last one got it so wrong.

“The single greatest contribution to the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is not the burning of fossil fuels by the transport sector, nor is it industrial pollution, it is deforestation.

“I’m supporting Kofi Annan’s initiative and hope this song will be heard by as many people as possible in the world before Copenhagen. This campaign will help secure a better future for our planet and upcoming generations. The time has come.”

David Jones, Global CEO of Havas Worldwide the network who created the campaign for Mr. Annan’s Global Humanitarian Forum said:

“Our industry excels at changing people’s behavior. I believe that we have not only an opportunity but also an obligation to use our creativity to address some of the biggest issues facing the world.

“To get a meaningful outcome at Copenhagen requires everyone putting pressure on their leaders to agree on a fair post-Kyoto deal. This is precisely the aim of the campaign, and the advertising and marketing communities have a crucial role to play.”

Alexandre Sap, CEO of The:Hours, who assembled the artists and produced the soundtrack said:

“Music is the universal language, capable of transcending cultures, generations, religions and races. A song or an artist truly has the power to translate a message or a movement more than any politician or world leader can on a global scale.

“This will create a voice for all of us who deserve to have a say leading up to Copenhagen in December. The goal is to draw enough attention to an event that will affect everyone’s lives on the planet.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Pete Bowyer, Apex Communications: +44-7725-063377 (pete.bowyer@apexcommunications.com) Branimira Radoslavova, Apex Communications: +44-7867-532339 (branimira@apexcommunications.com) Lorella Gessa, Havas : +33-1-58-47-90-36 (lorella.gessa@havas.com) Marian Salzman, Euro RSCG PR : +1-646-361-1837 (marian.salzman@eurorscg.com) Eric Edge, Euro RSCG Worldwide : +1-773-490-9261 (eric.edge@eurorscg.com)

Source: Global Humanitarian Forum

Pete Bowyer, Apex Communications, +44-7725-063377, pete.bowyer at apexcommunications.com, or Branimira Radoslavova, Apex Communications, +44-7867-532339, branimira at apexcommunications.com, Lorella Gessa, Havas: +33-1-58-47-90-36, lorella.gessa at havas.com, Marian Salzman, Euro RSCG PR, +1-646-361-1837, marian.salzman at eurorscg.com, Eric Edge, Euro RSCG Worldwide, +1-773-490-9261, eric.edge at eurorscg.com / NOTES TO EDITORS: 1. To listen to the audio version of the song, to see the video, and for other media assets, please go to: www.highrisepr.com/tcktcktck login: climate password: change09 The song is also downloadable for free on iTunes, by going to: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewalbum?i=332754461&i d=332754130&s=143442&uo=6