#COP26 Hear Me While You Can

Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief

You cannot have missed the news that 20,000 world leaders and delegates are currently meeting in Glasgow to discuss solutions to the world’s climate crisis.

This week Conservation International announced a new global OOH campaign with Clear Channel, entitled ‘Hear me while you can’ in order to make sure that nature is heard at #COP26 – it aims to inspire world leaders, delegates and people around the world to understand what will be lost if we fail to protect nature.

Dr. M. Sanjayan, CEO of Conservation International said “Nature isn’t just something that is beautiful to see and hear – it is essential in the fight to slow climate change, to our very survival. The science on this is clear: if we don’t invest in stopping the destruction of nature, we will fail to avert climate catastrophe – even if we get everything else right. We are working across the global south – and now, here at COP26 in Glasgow – to drive investments to nature for the benefit of people and the climate.”

Clear Channel digital screens are showcasing Conservation International’s new campaign, which invites passers-by to stop and listen to the beautiful sounds of nature.

The digital screens feature a QR code which, once snapped, transports the public to conservation.org/HearMe, where they can listen to some of nature’s most majestic soundscapes, from the Amazon rainforest to South African savannah, from Southeast Asia mountains to the North Pacific Ocean, and learn more about Conservation International’s work to protect nature around the world.

The ‘Hear Me’campaign gives a nod to the award-winning ‘Nature Is Speaking’ films that Conservation International launched with MAL\FOR GOOD back in 2014, and whose tag line, “Nature doesn’t need people. People need nature,” drives home the point that saving nature is really about saving ourselves.

Clear Channel is lending its support to the campaign by offering free advertising space across its markets, in Europe, the Americas and Asia. This global scale has the potential to reach millions of people worldwide.

This global pro-bono out of home campaign builds on Clear Channel’s longstanding commitment to using OOH’s unique strengths, its mass reach and ability to build brand fame, to give a voice to some of today’s most pressing issues — in this case, climate change.

William Eccleshare, CEO of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. told us “At Clear Channel, our ambition is to create a better world through the ways in which we use our out of home advertising platform. This can only be achieved if we protect the future first. We’re playing our part in two vital ways: first, by using the power of our medium to extend the reach and facilitate debate on important issues that often don’t get the attention they deserve. This includes our pro-bono campaign with Conservation International which we’re incredibly proud to be helping amplify so that people worldwide, and not just the delegates of COP26, are invited to the conversation. Second, we’re making tangible changes to how we operate as a business to reduce our environmental impact. For example, earlier this year we developed a prototype for a new piece of street furniture that cleans the same amount of air as 20 trees, and we continue to use recycled materials to build our bus shelters and partner with charities like Trees for Cities to create greener cities.”

Clear Channel is a signatory to the UN Global Compact and has committed to be Carbon Net Zero by 2050 across its global operations in line with the Paris Agreement. The company is spearheading projects and initiatives to drive sustainability across its business operations and will be reporting on its progress in an upcoming ESG report.

Conservation International works to protect the critical benefits that nature provides to people. Through science, partnerships and fieldwork, Conservation International is driving innovation and investments in nature-based solutions to the climate crisis, supporting protections for critical habitats, and fostering economic development that is grounded in the conservation of nature. Conservation International works in 30 countries around the world, empowering societies at all levels to create a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable planet.


Leave a Reply