On 21 December 2023, the United Nations Information Centre, Tokyo (UNIC Tokyo) announced the commencement of the third year of the climate campaign “Promise of 1.5ºC. Act now to stop global warming.” on 1 January 2024.

On top of UN Secretary-General António Guterres describing last summer’s sweltering heat as “global boiling,” the average global temperature in 2023 was reported to be the highest on record. To enable campaign members to implement the campaign more extensively and actively in this alarming situation, this third-year campaign is running as a year-round campaign, ending on 31 December 2024. The intensive promotional period will begin on 1 September 2024, when the UN General Assembly High-level Week is scheduled to be held at the UN Headquarters in New York, and will continue until the end of the UN Climate Change Conference 2024 (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, scheduled from 11 to 22 November.

The campaign was first launched on 17 June 2022 by the UN and voluntary media entities, who are all members of the SDG Media Compact, a global collaboration framework between the UN and media companies. The objective of this campaign is, through the power of media in information dissemination and public engagement, to promote the understanding of why it is necessary to limit the global average temperature rise to 1.5ºC above the pre-industrial level, to propose concrete actions to climate change including global warming, and to encourage individuals and organizations to change their behaviors.

As of 19 June 2024, 164 media entities are joining in the third year, the highest number in this campaign. A total of 146 media entities took part in this campaign in its first year, 2022, and 156 in its second year, 2023.

This year, the campaign members are expected to highlight climate science experts’ voices, ideas that can be incorporated into people’s daily lives, and best practices of climate actions on occasions when public attention to climate crisis is heightened, such as at extreme weather events. The third-year campaign focuses on providing information on actions and solutions that individuals, organizations, and society as a whole can take, involving more people and expanding their concrete climate actions.

To support the media entities participating in the campaign, UNIC Tokyo is connecting them with climate scientists, weather forecasters, and other experts who are able to share their scientific knowledge. UNIC Tokyo is also creating opportunities to encourage more collaboration between the participating media entities, such as peer-learning opportunities and exchanges of members’ upcoming campaign activities.

In addition, the media entities are expected to set more ambitious organizational climate action efforts.

Since its launch, this campaign has been carried out with the support of Creative Volunteers from Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc., a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact initiative. The campaign title, slogan, statement, and logo have been created based on ideas provided by the company’s copywriters and designers taking part in this scheme while taking into consideration the opinions of Japanese SDG Media Compact members.

According to Hakuhodo’s impact survey that examined how the second year’s campaign has influenced people’s awareness and behaviors, a certain proportion of people recognized the importance of keeping the “Promise of 1.5ºC”, and they were more aware of the urgency of the climate crisis and took concrete action to fight climate change. Meanwhile, the proportions of those who recognized the 1.5ºC limit and were taking concrete action slightly declined since the first year. These findings indicate the importance of covering the climate crisis more comprehensively through multiple media channels, including collaborations among media outlets.

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About the SDG Media Compact

Founded by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres along with 31 founding member companies in September 2018, the SDG Media Compact seeks to inspire media and entertainment companies around the world to leverage their resources and creative talent to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As of 20 December 2023, 390 media companies and organizations from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East have joined this initiative. By disseminating facts, human stories, and solutions, the SDG Media Compact is a powerful driver for advocacy, action, and accountability on the SDGs.

For more information, visit https://www.unic.or.jp/activities/economic_social_development/sustainable_development/2030agenda/sdg_media_compact/.

About ActNow

ActNow is a global campaign launched by the UN in 2018 to call for individuals to take climate action. The campaign is a critical part of the UN’s coordinated effort to raise public awareness and ambition to tackle the climate crisis and accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement. With a broadened focus on all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the campaign now provides entry points for individual action for a healthy planet, including climate action, as well as for a better economy, a just society and a world working together.

For more information, visit https://www.un.org/en/actnow/.

About the campaign’s impact survey conducted by Hakuhodo

Hakuhodo SDGs Project conducts ongoing research into consumer awareness and action in relation to decarbonization. The information is provided in Japanese only.
https://www.hakuhodody-holdings.co.jp/topics/2023/12/4558.html

About Hakuhodo DY Group’s Creative Volunteer Support

Below is a list of staff members who have helped this campaign through Hakuhodo Creative Volunteer Support.

Producer: Hiroshi Masaka, Hakuhodo DY Holdings
Creative Director and Copywriter: Yuta Iguchi, Hakuhodo
Art Director: Go Hosokawa, Hakuhodo
Designer: Saori Nakayama, Hakuhodo
Public relations: Shiho Maki, Hakuhodo
Public relations: Kei Midorikawa, Hakuhodo
Research: Mitsuru Nakahira, Hakuhodo
Research: Chiyoko Kameda, Hakuhodo
Research: Sumie Kaminaga, Hakuhodo
Research: Rina Shirasaki, Hakuhodo
Movie Producer: Yuji Ojima, Hakuhodo Product’s
Movie Director: Yusuke Shibasaki, Hakuhodo Product’s
Production Manager: Ryota Goto, Hakuhodo Product’s
Production Manager: Ukyo Suzuki, Hakuhodo Product’s
Designer: Nanami Shimizu, Hakuhodo Product’s

For more information about this campaign, please contact UNIC Tokyo at sdgs-unic.tokyo@un.org

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