Since April 2019, ONCA has been part of a coalition of hundreds of UK arts and culture institutions and individuals who have declared a Climate and Ecological Emergency.
About Culture Declares Emergency
Culture Declares Emergency is a growing community of creative practitioners and organisations concerned about the grievous harms faced by the living planet. Hundreds of individuals and organisations have ‘declared’ emergency as part of a movement demanding systemic change to support life on Earth.
Our Pledge
In recognition of the science of climate change and of the devastating climate-related impacts of extractive capitalism on human lives, biodiversity and ecosystems around the world, ONCA declares a climate and ecological emergency. We pledge to work with and support our community and local government in tackling this emergency, and we call on others to do the same. These are our intentions:
1. We will tell the truth
Governments and the media must tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency and its associated harms that disproportionately affect frontline communities and people of colour all over the world. Governments and the media must communicate the urgent need for far-reaching systemic change. We pledge to:
- Use our platforms to communicate with people and support them to discuss and respond to the climate and ecological emergency, and to understand the changes that are needed.
2. We will take action
Governments must reverse climate-harming policies and enact legally binding policy measures to reduce CO2 emissions to net zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels. We pledge to:
- Work towards reducing ONCA’s CO2 emissions to net zero by 2025 by continuously reviewing and developing our environmental policies and in dialogue with our suppliers
- Challenge local and national government policies and actions that do not help to reduce CO2 emissions or fossil fuel consumption levels
- Imagine and model ways that ONCA and its organisational practices (eg. programming, public engagement, recruitment, commissioning, fundraising, procurement) can regenerate the planet’s biodiversity and ecosystems in ways that support social and racial justice.
3. We are committed to justice
The emergency has arisen from deeply systemic injustices. Arts and culture can imagine and forge shifts in the ways people relate to one another and the world, in values and behaviours. We pledge to:
- Use ONCA’s privileges, platforms, spaces and other resources to amplify the voices of people experiencing climate and environmental injustice and highlight intergenerational harm.
- Support practical acts of solidarity that are informed by people directly affected by the systems and structures driving the ecological emergency, and promote initiatives led by these communities.
- Ensure that our practices and projects are underpinned by reflective dialogue as we push for rapid action for climate justice.
Declaration ends.
Get involved
For more information on #CultureDeclaresEmergency, please see the CultureDeclaresEmergency website.
To see what #CultureDeclaresEmergency events we have coming up click the link below.