21 April 2023, New Delhi: ‘Love in the Times of Climate Change - Poems of Hope’ brings together India’s seven leading performance poets to explore the experiences of love in a world grappling with impacts of climate change. The project is a result of a collaboration between the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), one of Asia’s leading sustainability think tanks, and UnErase Poetry, one of India’s most loved online spoken word platforms. 

In 2023, climate change is an accepted reality that affects us intimately, both locally and globally. The poems, written in Hindi and English by four women and three men, highlight hope and human perseverance at a time of cautionary numbers and analysis. The poems do not focus on the causes of climate change but rather its effects on love, nostalgia, desire and anxiety. They also subtly weave in climate solutions such as electric vehicles, solar rooftops, and windmills as part of the storytelling, inspiring action towards a sustainable tomorrow.

Mihir Shah, Director-Strategic Communications, CEEW, said: “Climate change storytelling can often be perceived as technical, dull, or overly pessimistic. To mainstream climate action and make it a dinner table conversation, we need to present hope, personalise messaging, experiment with fresh formats such as spoken word poetry, and collaborate with mainstream influencers. Love in the Times of Climate Change is our attempt to excite ordinary citizens, especially the youth, and nudge them to act on sustainability in a sustained manner.”  

Simar Singh, Founder of UnErase Poetry, and one of the seven poets, said: “As poets and artists, we often hope that our work has a larger impact on the world. We strive to write poems that not only talk about our feelings but also resonate with the feelings of a larger group of people. Climate change is our present and our future and living through it and loving through it is our reality. The poems are just a reflection of that reality.”

Kartikeya Jain, Communications Associate, CEEW, said: “As humans, we often do not realise how close and personal the issue of climate change is and what we can do about it. To address this, Love in the Times of Climate Change borrows from everyday instances and conveys the human experiences and emotions of living in these times. It was important to bring out narratives embedded in our contexts through an art form such as spoken-word poetry that people engage and connect with.”

The poets participating in this project include Amandeep Singh, Helly Shah, Priya Malik, Priyanshi Bansal, Sainee Raj, Shubham Shyam and Simar Singh. They highlight their experiences from various parts of India, from Mumbai to Jamshedpur, Bihar, Dehradun and Gujarat, sharing their stories of droughts, floods, forest fires and other extreme climate events.

• Wo Laut Aayi - Amandeep Singh (@amandeep.khayal | 195K Followers) 
• Agar Tum Sath Ho - Priya Malik (@priyasometimes | 425K Followers)
• Ghar Kab Aaoge? - Helly Shah (@hellyshah_ | 134K Followers) 
• Learning to Love - Priyanshi Bansal
• A Burning Heart - Sainee Raj (@cacklerraj | 92.5K Followers)

Check out other innovative initiatives by CEEW to mainstream climate communications below:

• What on Earth!™ - Dedicated to the planet, our Pale Blue Dot, What On Earth!™ is cartoon series on sustainability on how we are treating the planet and how the planet is treating us back.
• Sustaina - Sustaina India is a first-of-its-kind initiative by Thukral & Tagra and CEEW to catalyse pollinations across art, science and policy-making through annual fellowships, exhibitions and public programmes.
• Portrait of a Silver Lining - a spoken word poem written and performed to music by Simar Singh, a young poet from the Global South, urging bold climate action and accountability to heal our planet. It is this artiste's interpretation of the messages from the report Stockholm+50: Unlocking a Better Future.
• Faces of Climate Resilience - Faces of Climate Resilience captures the voices of people from some of India's most climate vulnerable states, such as Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. The project strives to make climate change more tangible beyond data through the lived experiences of people. The focus is on how individuals and communities are building climate resilience.
• Take Care Ad - CEEW-SHEETAL produced and launched a consumer-focused public service advertisement (PSA), Take Care, during the summer of 2022. Promoted on YouTube targeting AC users in Delhi-NCR, it nudges viewers to 'Take Care' of their ACs through good servicing practices, which can optimise their cooling performance and reduce power consumption.

For media queries contact Tulshe Agnihotri – tulshe.agnihotri@ceew.in | +91 9621119643