World Vision ambassador Hugh Jackman speaks out on climate change and the poor

New York, NY, September 16, 2009—Actor and World Vision Ambassador Hugh Jackman has joined forces with The Climate Group, Mayor Bloomberg, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to support Climate Week NY°C, a week-long series of events being held throughout New York City from September 20-26 that will address the urgent need for action on climate change.

Jackman, known for his feature roles in films such as “X-Men” franchise and “The Prestige” and theatre, including the new Broadway production, “A Steady Rain” and his Tony award winning role in “The Boy from Oz,” is an advocate for action on climate change: for cutting emissions and for adaptation, the need for societies and natural environments to respond to climatic events brought about, or intensified, by climate change.

Jackman will participate in the Opening Ceremony of Climate Week NY°C, to take place from Noon-1pm on Monday, September 21, along with world leaders including the Rt Hon Tony Blair, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

“I’m honored to join the many government, business and civil society leaders who are calling for urgent action to address climate change,” said Jackman. “I hope to be a voice for the billion people in developing countries who will be the hardest hit by changing weather patterns; by the droughts and floods that destroy their crops and threaten their food security. Climate Week NY°C provides an ideal forum to help underscore the urgency for world leaders to secure and fund an ambitious global climate change deal in Copenhagen that is effective, fair and binding.”

“We’re grateful for the enormous support we’ve already received for Climate Week NY°C, and to Hugh Jackman for adding his voice to those calling for world leaders to agree a green New Deal to tackle climate change and to unlock green jobs and green growth,” said Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group, the secretariat of Climate Week NY°C. "With so much at stake in December, business leaders, policy-makers and citizens must make it clear to leaders of all our nations that now is the time to unite in the best interests of the planet and our future prosperity."

Climate Week NY°C is a partnership comprised of global non-profit The Climate Group, the United Nations, the UN Foundation, the City of New York, the TckTckTck campaign and the Carbon Disclosure Project. HP is the Premier Sponsor and Swiss Re the Founding Sponsor of Climate Week NY°C, with additional support from HSBC. Taking place less than 80 days before the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, Climate Week NY°C provides a platform for leaders from government and business, as well as everyday citizens, to demonstrate their support for a global deal on climate change in Copenhagen. A full list of the more than 60 events taking place throughout New York City during the week can found at www.climateweeknyc.org.


World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty. We serve the world’s poor - regardless of a person’s religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information, please visit www.worldvision.org/press.