KINGSTON, Jamaica —Caribbean audiences are up for a musical treat, thanks to a new album released Thursday, under the ‘1.5 to Stay Alive’ campaign.
The campaign — the work of Panos Caribbean; the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre; the Saint Lucia Ministry of Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology;the Caribbean Development Bank, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States; the Regional Council of Martinique — has supported the region’s negotiating positions prior to and during the recent climate change talks held in Paris in December.
Throughout, the focus has been on ensuring that global temperatures are limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, given the catastrophic climate risks — including sea level rise and extreme weather events — to the small island developing states of the region.
With Caribbean players succeeding in having the 1.5 captured as one element of the target in the outcome document from Paris, the ongoing campaign is seeking to ensure no loss of momentum as countries look to ratify the new global deal.
To that end, it has, through a small grants window, worked with Jamaican artistes Aaron Silk, Minori Russell and Pam Hall,to produce songs with the 1.5 message.
Together, the trio, along with Lloyd Lovindeer — all of them also participants in the Panos Caribbean Voices for Climate Change Education programme — have produced four songs.
The songs are titled “Below 1.5”, “Keep on trying”, “Environment blues”, and “For us to survive”.
At a Cocktail launch at the Four Seasons in Kingston Thursday, government and civil society actors, including members of the media, witnessed the live performance of those songs.
The campaign theme song titled “1.5 to Stay Alive” —along with seven others earlier done under the Voices for Climate Change Education programme — rounds out the album.
The campaign theme song features the vocals of BankyBanx from Anguilla; BelO from Haiti; E.sy Kennenga from Martinique; Jessy Leonce, Ace Loctar and Shayne Ross from Saint Lucia; David Rudder from Trinidad; Aaron Silk from Jamaica; and Taj Weekes and Deridee Williams from Saint Lucia.
The other titles are “Global Warning”; Breath of fresh air; “To the leaders”; Moral Duty; “Free da Ghetto Youths”; “Mother Earth’s Cry”; and “Our Planet’s Aid”. They feature the vocals of Boom Dawn, Fyah Juice, and Richie Ramsay, along with Lovindeer et al.
