Ellie Goulding is urging people to "fight to protect" the planet.
The ‘Power’ hitmaker is a global ambassador for the UN Environment Programme and a self-confessed "nature nerd", and has said that following the increase of people’s interest in nature amid the coronavirus pandemic, she hopes to see more people willing to make a stand against climate change.
Writing in a letter about climate change for Vogue magazine, she said: "Hi, I’m Ellie and I’m full of hope about the future. I’m also frequently full of dread, worry, anxiety and bravado, courage, anger, wonder, love, and a whole mix of other things because let’s face it, we are complex, us humans.
"I believe we are hardwired to be hopeful, just as we are hardwired to love nature – you just sometimes have to dig a little. I’m a nature nerd, myself. I grew up in rural Herefordshire on the English-Welsh border, pacing through fields and knowing all the hedgerows, wildflowers, and open spaces."
Ellie went on to quote oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, and said the people who "fell in love with nature" this year should now be fighting to keep it safe.
She added: "Oceanographer Jacques Cousteau pioneered underwater filming so he could bring the ocean ecosystem he loved to cinemas. His aim wasn’t just to entertain but to also trigger an impulse in us to conserve. He reasoned, ‘How can you protect what you do not love?’ So if you fell in love with nature this spring, during lockdown’s famous ‘nature pause’, now you need to fight to protect it."
The ‘Burn’ hitmaker also admitted she wasn’t sure she was the right fit for her role with the UN at first, but realised the "connection [she] had with nature" gives her as much right to talk about "protecting this beautiful planet" as anyone else.
She wrote: "Somehow I realised that the connection I had with nature gave me legitimacy. Did I have a right to speak out about protecting this beautiful planet? Of course I did, and so do you."
Ellie urged people to make small changes to their daily lives such as cutting down on plastics to reduce waste, and said her "hope" for the future is that world leaders eventually switch to greener energy alternatives.
She said: "My hope comes from the strength of the movement and the direction we’re all moving in, such as pushing leaders to switch from fossil fuels to green energy. For me, the best way to contribute is to keep telling the hopeful stories about how we want our future to look."