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This article is more than 1 year old

Greta Thunberg has made her musical debut on a single by the 1975. On a track called The 1975, a version of which traditionally opens each of the British band’s albums, the 16-year-old environmental activist restates her position on the need to act on the climate emergency.

Thunberg said: “I’m grateful to get the opportunity to get my message out to a broad new audience in a new way. I think it’s great that the 1975 is so strongly engaged in the climate crisis. We quickly need to get people in all branches of society to get involved. And this collaboration I think is something new.”

Over the 1975’s minimal orchestral backing, Thunberg says: “We have to acknowledge that the older generations have failed. All political movements in their present form have failed. But homo sapiens have not yet failed. Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around.”

She continues: “We are facing a disaster of unspoken sufferings for enormous amounts of people. And now is not the time for speaking politely or focusing on what we can or cannot say. Now is the time to speak clearly.”

Thunberg concludes: “So, everyone out there, it is now time for civil disobedience. It is time to rebel.” Read the full text of her speech below.

The proceeds from the track will go to Extinction Rebellion at Thunberg’s request. The environmental group released a statement welcoming the collaboration: “Music has the power to break through barriers, and right now we really need to break through some barriers if we are to face this emergency.”

Thunberg is the first outside party to feature on a recording by the band. The track was recorded in Stockholm in late June and is the first song to be released from the 1975’s forthcoming album, Notes on a Conditional Form.

The band manager and founder of the label Dirty Hit, Jamie Oborne, said the group and the label were making efforts to minimise their environmental impact. Dirty Hit’s office has phased out all single-use plastic, will no longer produce plastic products including CD jewel cases and is working to minimise the impact of vinyl production.

“Rather than ignoring that it’s a pollutant, we’re minimising it by only doing lightweight vinyl from now on,” Oborne said. “That isn’t very trendy, but one heavyweight LP is the equivalent of making two or three [standard thickness LPs].”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Greta Thunberg addresses the French National Assembly in Paris on 23 July 2019. Photograph: JP Pariente/SIPA/Rex/Shutterstock

Dirty Hit’s CDs and vinyl are contained in paper packaging and not wrapped in non-degradable shrink wrap. Oborne said they had sourced a biodegradable shrink wrap which they would integrate fully once their production plants had full access to it. The 1975’s next merchandise line will also be environmentally friendly, repurposing unsold merchandise into new garments.

Oborne dismissed peers’ suggestions that the organisation could be labelled hypocritical for taking a stance on the climate crisis before becoming 100% carbon efficient. “That’s why we’re in this situation where everyone’s standing around and it takes a child to point out that we can make these changes,” he said, referring to Thunberg.

“We’re not going to have touring worked out in six weeks because everything’s working against you, but we are going to have it sorted out in a period of time, and 50% is better than nothing. If everyone pushes responsibility onto other people because they can’t completely solve [the issue], we’re already fucked.”

The track release follows Thunberg’s address to French politicians on 23 July, in which she urged them to “unite behind the science” of climate change. After rightwing legislators said they would not attend her appearance at the National Assembly, she said youth climate activists have become “the bad guys” for stating “uncomfortable things”.

“Just for quoting or acting on these numbers, these scientific facts, we receive unimaginable amounts of hate and threats,” she said. “We are being mocked and lied about by members of parliament and journalists.” On 20 September, Thunberg and other young environmental activists will lead a climate strike around the world.

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The 1975’s new album is the second in their Music for Cars series, which began in November 2018 with A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships. The group will headline this year’s Reading and Leeds festivals in August.

The full text of Thunberg’s speech.