Stephan Crawford - ClimateMusic 5-23-25

Flanigan's Eco-Logic

​In this episode of Flanigan's Eco-Logic, Ted interviews Stephan Crawford, the founder and executive producer of ClimateMusic. Stephan is a San Francisco-based fine artist who in 2014 developed ClimateMusic. Frustrated by the lack of action to combat the very real threat of the climate emergency, Stephan brought together musicians with science experts to develop musical messages to educate and inspire action. In addition, ClimateMusic brings together visual artists and videographers to enhance and spread its messaging far and wide.

Stephan and his ~40 collaborators have found that music is a good entry point for those that might not go to a scientific lecture or read a report. Instead, ClimateMusic is tapping into the universal, and uniquely powerful language of music. To date, ClimatMusic has worked in 10 countries and has reached audiences in over 30 countries.

One of ClimateMusic's campaigns that targets youth -- the Be Cool Campaign -- engaged 2,400 young singers on four continents. The musical composition is joyful. Stephan notes that the climate emergency is hard for young people. They find it scary. Like adults, they often do not have a sense of the urgency of the climate emergency, nor a sense of what they can do to combat climate change.

ClimateMusic is strategic and deliberate with each concert covering three parts: the climate science, the musical performance, followed by conversations for engagement. The Be Cool Campaign, a collaboration with U.K.-based Musicians Declare Emergency, serves as a convenor that draws out emotions that in turn leads to action. Be Cool has connected kids in many countries. It has over 136,000 views. One of its exciting results was a GoFundMe campaign for a solar system that will provide light and cooling for a Nigerian school.