San Francisco, 11 September 2018 – Emmy-nominated star and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador Nikolaj Coster-Waldau will join the concert for climate action at The Masonic in San Francisco on Friday 14 September.

The globally acclaimed Danish actor, best known to audiences as Jamie Lannister in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, Coster-Waldau is a passionate climate advocate. 

At the concert, he joins a world-renowned group of artists, performers, activists and policymakers who together will speak out on the urgent need for climate action. Among them will be an act by Nukâka Coster-Waldau’s band ‘Suluit’ – an Inuit word meaning ‘Wings’ - whose music is inspired by traditional Greenlandic myths and drum songs.

“Climate change is the greatest threat facing our planet by far. Action is needed now, not tomorrow, but today,” noted Coster-Waldau. “I just came from Greenland where I was joined by UNDP on a visit to glaciers at-risk of climate change. During the month I spent there, I was front of the glaciers, flew over them, hiked on the ice cap, slept on the ice cap and even went underneath a glacier. And everywhere the same story was told by the locals. The ice is melting at increasing speed. These glaciers, as beautiful and massive as they are, are also emblematic of the struggle against climate change. It is here that we are seeing the steady acceleration of climate impacts. We need action on climate change to protect our planet and to protect ourselves.”

“Last year, carbon emissions reached a historic 32.5 gigatons and 2017 was one of the hottest years on record,” noted Achim Steiner, Administrator of UNDP.

“The Paris Agreement gave us a global sense of optimism that - together - the world could overcome this incredible climate challenge.  UNDP has partnered on these concerts for the past three years because we believe that public support and engagement are essential to keep this positive momentum and mobilize people to act,” he added.

Also speaking at the concert will be three founding members of Zero Hour, a youth-led movement creating entry points, training, and resources for new young activists and organizers (and adults who support our vision) wanting to take concrete action around climate change. The mission of the Zero Hour movement is to center the voices of diverse youth in the conversation around climate and environmental justice.

Second grader Rhiannon Hewitt, a local from San Francisco, will also share an original poem, written about her imaginary relationship with seven extinct species. It will truly be an evening of multi-generational voices, bound together by this global crisis.

The concert, a partnership between UNDP, Pathway to Paris, and 350.org, takes place on the final day of the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS), which emphasizes the critical role of cities and sub-national governments in tackling climate change and meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The concert is kindly supported by a number of partners and companies, including Salesforce, Ben and Jerry’s, and Little Sun.

Tickets for the concert are currently on sale via Ticketmaster. For further information or to request an interview, please contact Dylan Lowthian at dylan.lowthian@undp.org.

The event will also be livestreamed at the links below:

youtube.com/benandjerrys

facebook.com/benandjerrysUS

facebook.com/pathway2paris

https://www.facebook.com/UNDP/

PATHWAY TO PARIS

September 14^th 2018

Masonic Temple, San Francisco

PATTI SMITH   •   BILL MCKIBBEN   •   BOB WEIR   •   FLEA

OLAFUR ELIASSON   •   NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU   •   SULUIT 

ERIC BURDON   •   RHIANNON HEWITT   •   TENZIN CHOEGYAL  

ZERO HOUR   •   IMANY   •   REBECCA FOON   •   JESSE PARIS SMITH

Doors: 18:00   Show: 19:00

Tickets available at LiveNation.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, or charge by phone 1-800-745-3000.

For photos from the 2017 concert please visit:  http://pathwaytoparis.com/the-events/carnegie-hall/

UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. www.undp.org.

Pathway to Paris was founded in September 2014 by Jesse Paris Smith and Rebecca Foon, with an intimate evening of music and speakers at Le Poisson Rouge immediately following the People’s Climate March in New York City. A series of similar events unfolded in North America over the ensuing years. The events were initially intended to build awareness to help establish a global climate agreement, leading up to the UN Climate Change Conference (Cop21) that took place in December 2015, and culminated with two major concerts in Paris at Le Trianon, the first weekend of the conference. In November 2017, Pathway to Paris launched the 1000 Cities Initiative at Carnegie Hall in the lead up to COP 23.

Pathway to Paris has presented nine events, including five in NYC, but this night will be especially unique as it will serve as the first West Coast event. Pathway to Paris believes that NYC and LA/SF have the chance to step forward as leading cities of USA, setting the example of transitioning off fossil fuels into a 100% renewable future.

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