Mark Ruffalo, Dia Mirza Join Global Initiative Aimed At Inspiring 1 Billion to Act On Climate Change

For the first time, a diverse coalition of culture, faith, sport, cities and businesses around the world today announced their participation in Count Us In, an unprecedented global campaign to inspire one billion people to take practical steps to reduce carbon pollution and challenge leaders to act more boldly on climate. Count Us In is being launched at TED Countdown, a global initiative powered by TED and Future Stewards to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis.

There is an urgent need to move beyond the activist community and engage the non-activist middle to combat the threat posed by climate change. Extreme weather and rising sea levels from climate change will increasingly threaten communities and economies around the world unless we drastically reduce emissions and push leaders to take action. Count Us In answers this call by building the most ambitious citizen-led effort to avert the impacts of climate change. The movement focuses on engaging individuals who are not currently active on climate issues.

Count Us In sets out 16 practical and high impact steps individuals can take to protect the planet from carbon pollution before it is too late. These 16 steps, derived from experts and research at the UN Environment Programme and other partners, provide a practical way for us all to understand how we can play our part in tackling what can otherwise feel like an overwhelming challenge. Individual action can make a significant impact: If 1 billion people take practical action in their own lives, they could reduce as much as 20% of global carbon emissions.

The way individuals can take and log their actions is through the Count Us In global action platform. The Count Us In aggregator then adds up every step taken and shows the difference we can all make by acting together. It aggregates three data points: 1. The carbon savings of the steps taken; 2. The number of individuals taking steps; and 3. The number of steps taken. It also connects other partner climate action platforms to the aggregator's common database, importing their data with the aim of adding together, measuring and reporting an even larger scope of impact from collective citizen climate action.

Count Us In represents a diverse coalition of partners and individuals. From Global Citizen to INGKA Group/IKEA to Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Count Us In aims to inspire a billion people to significantly reduce their carbon pollution and challenge leaders to boldly deliver change. By standing up and taking action, communities have the power to pressure the leaders and companies that are responsible for a majority of the world's global emissions.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals globally continue to rate climate change as one of their chief concerns. A recent poll surveying 27 countries including the UK, India, and the U.S. found that 90% consider climate change as a 'very serious' or 'somewhat serious' issue. In several countries, however, less than 45% of respondents agreed strongly with urgent action.

Count Us In engages communities beyond existing activists. The aim of the movement is to reach the non-activist middle - a group that has the largest carbon footprint and significant influence with politicians and businesses. What this audience does, says and buys will not only directly reduce carbon pollution but will also drive wider systems change.

"We have less than a decade to do what Science shows is necessary - halving emissions by 2030," says Christiana Figueres, former UN Climate Chief, who oversaw the delivery of the landmark Paris Agreement on Climate Change. "It is entirely possible to change our economy from burn and destroy to rebuild and regenerate. Climate change affects us all right now, and we all have agency in tackling it before it's too late."

"Imagine what the world would look like if a billion people took action to fight climate change," said Chris Anderson, Head of TED and founding partner of TED Countdown. "We can all make a difference by taking simple practical steps. Count us in."

"We believe that urgency and optimism create action, and we need to act now," said Pia Heidenmark Cook, Chief Sustainability Officer at INGKA Group, the largest IKEA franchisee with stores in 30 countries. "Many solutions already exist and if we all do our part, we can solve the climate crisis. IKEA is committed to becoming climate positive by 2030, and when we do our part as a business and enable customers to do their part, through inspiration in our stores and other touch points, via our Better Living app and Count Us In, we can make a difference!"

"Climate change is already ravaging our lives, our communities and our livelihoods," says Dia Mirza, Actor, Producer and UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador. "It is up to us to respond to what we see around us. We are not powerless. We can protect what we love from the worst impacts of climate change if we act boldly and urgently. I am committing to wear clothes that last and call on citizens across India to take steps in their own lives too."

Richard Curtis, Filmmaker and Founder of Make My Money Matter, said: "Across the world, we're seeing an explosion of activism as millions of people urgently ask 'what can I actually do to make a difference on the climate crisis?' Greening your money is one of the most powerful things any of us can do to fight climate change, and so we're thrilled to be partnering with Count Us In - a brilliant platform to help all of us discover the ways we can build a better world, and protect what we love."

To date, climate action campaigns have inspired activists, researchers, scientists and more. Count Us In is the first global movement expanding this initiative to include a billion people worldwide. To learn more and commit to taking action, visit count-us-in.org.

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