An Introduction to the Climate Crisis
22nd April 2024
Today, Earth Day 2024, marks the launch of Music Mark’s new campaign – This Is Not A Rehearsal. This campaign aims to raise awareness and encourage action around the climate crisis within the music education sector. Throughout the campaign, we will be sharing resources, training, events, blogs and research to help you make climate-conscious changes and learn about the climate crisis.
So, what is the climate crisis, and why should you get involved?
What is the climate crisis?
The term ‘climate change’ refers to ‘long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns’, and it has been proven that the rapid speed of global warming has been caused by human behaviour (United Nations). As a result, this is widely referred to as the climate crisis to reflect the seriousness of the situation. 2023 was the warmest year recorded since global records began in 1850 at 1.18°C, and the 10 warmest years in these records have all occurred in the last decade (2014-2023) (United Nations), despite international pledges including the Paris Agreement, and subsequent COP promises.
Evidence of climate change can be seen on the NASA website, and you can find out the facts behind common myths regarding climate change here.
Photo by Matt Palmer on Unsplash
Why is it relevant to you?
The climate crisis is affecting all of us, even if we don’t realise it. In the UK, climate change could lead to warmer and wetter winters, hotter and drier summers, and more frequent and intense weather. This tool from the BBC and Met Office allows you to find out how the climate crisis could affect your local area by entering your postcode. It also has broader implications globally, posing risks to food production, human health, the spreading of diseases, and damage to ecosystems.
The music education sector must have the needs and concerns of young people at its heart. 84% of young people worldwide said that they feel worried about climate change (Greenpeace). The effects of climate change in the UK in the future – warmer and drier summers, and warmer and wetter winters – could create risks to public health and severely impact our daily lives, and the lives of the young people that our sector supports. We must take meaningful, sustainable changes and reduce our emissions to protect the planet for future generations.
It is important to note that climate change has a disproportionate effect on marginalised and vulnerable populations:
- ‘The countries with the fewest resources are likely to bear the greatest burden in terms of loss of life and relative effect on investment and the economy.’ (World Economic Forum)
- ‘By 2050, unchecked climate change might force more than 200 million people to migrate within their own countries, pushing up to 130 million people into poverty and unravelling decades of hard-won development achievements.’ (World Economic Forum)
- ‘People of colour across the Global South are those who will be most affected by the climate crisis, even though their carbon footprints are generally very low.’ (BBC)
- ‘Climate change affects women and girls most acutely because it exacerbates the existing outcomes of entrenched gender inequality.’ (Action Aid)
What can we do to help?
It can be daunting to know how you can make a difference and where to start your sustainable journey. Our This Is Not A Rehearsal webpage contains resources, training, events and more to help you make sustainable changes. You can also sign up for our monthly newsletter, which will delve into a different sustainable topic each month. Join Music Mark in our journey towards a more sustainable future and help raise awareness of the climate crisis throughout the music education sector.
If you are feeling concerned or overwhelmed about the climate crisis, the following resources provide advice around dealing with eco-anxiety:
