Massive Attack and The Smile have announced they will help the Tyndall Centre For Climate Change Research with six experiments aimed at decarbonising live music.
The Act 1.5 project is designed to help the sector make its contribution the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Tyndall Centre's roadmap has identified areas around live events that need to be tackled, such as audience transportation, to reduce emissions.
“The most recent IPCC report made the emergency plain: it’s now or never," suggested Massive Attack's 3D (left). "The report noted that across all sectors, investment in the shift to a low-carbon world is about six times lower than it needs to be – that estimation is reflected in the live music industry. After commissioning the Tyndall Report it was always our intention as a band to continue our own practical actions – working with the Act programme means we can take those actions much further.”
Massive Attack and Thom Yorke-fronted band The Smile, plus industry partners including ATC management, Ecotricity, Zenobe, Plus Zero, Trainhugger, Volta Trucks, Orion, the Rail Delivery Group, Backlash Productions and Bullocks Touring, will now implement the proposed experiments with the hope it will eventually speed up the live sector's efforts to decarbonise.
“Live music events are not decarbonising fast enough," explained Act 1.5's John O’Sullivan. "It’s that simple. Working with two artists with the integrity of leading their own emissions reductions experiments over more than 15 years means we can really start to push the boundaries of what can be achieved. Fusing in new industrial zero-carbon partners, we can make an incisive contribution to that work, and finally get the emissions curve moving in the right direction.”
Professor Carly MacLachlan of the Tyndall Centre, added he hoped the experiments' impact would go beyond live music, thanks to the sector's increased visibility across the global public sphere.
"We're really pleased with how the roadmap has been received, but what's critical now is delivery," he said. "The need for urgent emissions reductions across all sectors and the pathways to decarbonisation are clear. Live music has a special role to play here as it can both demonstrate how transformation can happen quickly and talk to really varied audiences about the need and potential for change. In this light, we're delighted to be contributing to the ACT 1.5 experiments."
Last year Massive Attack made available an open resource to help the live music sector resduce its emissions.
