“Promise of 1.5 ºC. Act now to stop global warming.”
The UN and media partners relaunch the Japan-based joint climate action campaign

20 March 2023, Tokyo – The United Nations Information Centre, Tokyo (UNIC Tokyo) and its media partners today announced that they jointly launch the second-year installment of “Promise of 1.5℃. Act now to stop global warming” campaign, aiming to leverage the power of the media to call for climate actions.

The objective of this campaign is, through 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 stop global warming, and to encourage individuals and organizations to change their behaviors.

Currently, 127 Japan-based media partners, big and small, national and local, have already joined the second-year installment of the campaign. These are all members of the SDG Media Compact, a global collaboration framework between the United Nations and media companies. 11 of them are newcomers to the campaign. The number of participating media is expected to grow.

The campaign, which is to run through the end of this year, begins today, on the day when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is to release its Synthesis Report, its first comprehensive scientific assessment of this magnitude in nine years (the last IPCC Synthesis Report was published in 2014).

Media companies participating in this campaign will enhance public understanding of the reality of climate change through their programmes, editorial contents, websites, social media, and events. In these efforts, they will take advantage of global events including Group of Seven (G7) meetings hosted by Japan and this year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai as well as extreme weather events which Japan is not immune to. Moreover, they will propose actions to scale up and accelerate climate actions and to show how the “Promise of 1.5ºC” is indeed relevant to every individual, group, institution and organization. Furthermore, these participating media companies are expected to set more ambitious organizational climate action efforts.

The intensive promotional period will be from 18 to 25 September, coinciding with the timing of the UN General Assembly High-Level Week at the UN Headquarters in New York. During the same period, in addition to the Climate Ambition Summit to be convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the once-in-four-year SDG Summit will be also held at the UN Headquarters. This year, the SDGs, which are at midpoint of their 15-year implementation period, are far off track to their 2030 targets, underlying the vulnerability driven by the deepening climate crisis. We need to raise our ambition to tackle climate change and rally solidarity to those countries that suffer the losses and damages of the climate crisis well beyond their adaptation capacity.

From the impact survey conducted in the first year of the campaign, it was found that the timely massive reporting by multiple media outlets on the climate crisis and actions to put the brakes on climate change had an impact on people’s awareness and behaviors.  Feedback has been received that it has led to an enhanced understanding of the seriousness of climate crisis and awareness about possible solutions. Now is the time to unite with urgent actions to put the brakes on climate change. The United Nations Information Centre in Tokyo will continue to bond media partners together, with necessary outreach support to build up momentum across so many media partners to bring about transformation.

Melissa Fleming, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications who leads the UN Department of Global Communications, commented, “I am encouraged to see the continuation of this excellent initiative led by our office in Tokyo with members of the SDG Media Compact. Last year’s campaign successfully leveraged the creativity, reach and impact of media partners across Japan – and, now more than ever, we need to keep up the pressure to act on the climate crisis. The IPCC synthesis report to be released today will reinforces that the science is clear, the solutions are known, and action is urgent. The ‘Promise of 1.5′ campaign can play a crucial role in mobilizing partners across Japan to promote the science and solutions, advocate for bold action in every sector, and engage citizens in changing consumption patterns and speaking up for change.”

This campaign is implemented under “ActNow,” the UN’ global campaign calling on individuals, especially in advanced economies, to shift to more sustainable lifestyles and help drive bigger, systemic change.

The following is the list of 127 SDG Media Compact member companies that have expressed their commitment to the second-year installment of “Promise of 1.5ºC” campaign with this relaunch. The number is expected to grow in the future.

“Promise of 1.5 ºC” campaign participating media (as of the release date; in the alphabetical order of company names)

AICHI TELEVISION BROADCASTING,Akita Asahi Broadcasting,Akita Broadcasting System Inc.,AKITA TELEVISION,Aomori Broadcasting Corporation,Aomori Television Broadcasting,Asahi Broadcasting Aomori,Asahi Broadcasting Nagano,Asahi Satellite Broadcasting Limited,bayfm,Broadcasting System of Niigata Inc.,BS Fuji,BS YOSHIMOTO,BSS,CBC,CCNet,CHITA MEDIAS NETWORK,CHUKYO TV,Ehime Asahi Television,Ehime Broadcasting,FM FUJI,FM Kurashiki,FM Sagami,Fuji Television,Fukui Television Broadcasting,FUKUOKA BROADCASTING SYSTEM CORP.,Fukushima Broadcasting,Fukushima Television Broadcasting,HBC,Hearst Fujingaho Co., Ltd.,HIGASHI NIPPON BROADCASTING,Hiroshima Home Television,Hiroshima Television,Hokkaido TV Broadcasting,HOKURIKU ASAHI BROADCASTING,Hokuriku Broadcasting,HuffPost Japan,Impress Holdings,Ishikawa Television Broadcasting Corporation,itv,Iwate Menkoi Television,Iwate Asahi Television Co., Ltd.,J:COM,Japan Broadcasting Corporation,JIJI PRESS,KAGOSHIMA TELEVISION BROADCASTING,Kagoshima Yomiuri Television,KAHOKU SHIMPO PUBLISHING Co.,Kansai Television,Kochi Broadcasting,KOCHI SUN SUN BROADCASTING,Kumamoto Asahi Broadcasting,Kumamoto Kenmin Television,Kumamoto Telecasting Corporation,KURASHIKI CABLE TELEVISION Inc.,KUTV,Kyodo News,MBS,Mie Television Broadcasting,Miyazaki Telecasting Co., ltd.,MRT,Nagano Broadcasting Systems Inc.,Nagasaki Broadcasting,Nagasaki Culture Telecasting Corporation,Nagasaki International Television,Nagoya Broadcasting Network,New Media,NHK Enterprises,Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun,Nippon Broadcasting System, Inc.,Nippon TV,NST Niigata Sogo Television, Co., Ltd.,OBC,Oita Asahi Broadcasting,Okayama Broadcasting,OKINAWA TELEVISION BROADCASTING,RKK,RSK,Ryukyu Asahi Broadcasting,Saga Television,Sakuranbo Television Broadcasting,Sangyo Press,Seikyo Shimbun,SENDAI CATV,Sendai Television Incorporated,Setonaikai Broadcasting,Shizuoka Telecasting,STARCAT CABLE NETWORK,Suzuka Voice FM 78.3MHz,tbc,TBS HOLDINGS INC.,Television Nagasaki,Television Nishinippon Corporation,Television Saitama,TELEVISION TSUYAMA Inc.,Television Yamanashi,The Asahi Shimbun,THE CHUNICHI SHIMBUN,The Cuisine Press,The Kentsu Shimbun,The Mainichi Newspapers,The Niigata Television Network 21,The Nikkei,THE SANYO SHIMBUN ,The Sapporo Television Broadcasting,The Tokushima Shimbun,The Yamagata Shimbun,The Yomiuri Shimbun,Tochigi Television,Tokai Television Broadcasting,TOKYO CABLE NETWORK,TOS,TOYAMA TELEVISION BROADCASTING,TSK,TSS,TULIP-TV,TV Asahi,TV SETOUCHI BROADCASTING,TV TOKYO Holdings,TV-U Yamagata,UHB HOKKAIDO Cultural Broadcasting,Yahoo! JAPAN,Yamagata Broadcasting,Yamagata Television System,Yamaguchi Asahi Broadcasting,Yamaguchi Broadcasting,Yamaguchi Cable Vision

The Hakuhodo Creative Volunteers supporting the campaign

Since it was initially launched in June 2022, this campaign continues to be supported by the Creative Volunteers of Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc., a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact. 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 opinions of Japanese SDG Media Compact members.

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

• Masahiro Kawatei, Producer, Hakuhodo DY Holdings
• Yuta Iguchi, Creative Director and Copywriter, Hakuhodo
• Go Hosokawa, Art Director, Hakuhodo
• Saori Nakayama, Designer, Hakuhodo
• Shiho Maki, Public relations, Hakuhodo
• Kei Midorikawa, Public relations, Hakuhodo
• Mitsuru Nakahira, Research, Hakuhodo
• Chiyoko Kameda, Research, Hakuhodo
• Sumie Kaminaga, Research, Hakuhodo
• Rina Shirasaki, Research, Hakuhodo
• Yuji Ojima, Movie Producer, Hakuhodo Products
• Yusuke Shibasaki, Movie Director, Hakuhodo Products
• Ryota Goto, Production Manager, Hakuhodo Products
• Ukyo Suzuki, Production Manager, Hakuhodo Products

About the SDG Media Compact

Founded by the UN Secretary-General along with 31 founding members 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 advance the Sustainable Development Goals. As of 6 March 2023, there are 370 members from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East. By disseminating facts, human stories, and solutions, the Compact is a powerful driver for advocacy, action, and accountability on the SDGs. For more information, visit https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdg-media-compact-about/

About ActNow

ActNow is a global campaign by the UN to call for individuals to take climate action. The campaign is a critical part of the UN’s coordinated effort to raise awareness, ambition, and action to tackle the climate crisis and accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement. The objective of ActNow is to educate and prompt individuals to change their behavior through more sustainable consumption patterns and lifestyles. Decisions made by people in their daily lives influence the whole planet. By making changes to people’s habits and common practices and making choices that have less harmful effects on the environment, people can be part of the solution and influence change. For more information, visit https://www.un.org/en/actnow/.

About the United Nations Information Centre, Tokyo

The United Nations Information Centre in Tokyo (UNIC Tokyo) is part of the Department of Global Communications (DGC) of UN Secretariat. UNIC Tokyo works to raise the public’s interest and deepen their understanding about the UN and its activities, targeting the Japanese public in Japanese language. It covers a wide range of activities including creation of information materials in Japanese, organizing press conferences and media interviews, disseminating information through its website and social media accounts, and planning and holding of events.

For media queries about this campaign, please contact UNIC Tokyo at unic-tokyo@un.org

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