Arno pens climate track

Arno Carstens is linking Africa's school children with his mates worldwide to give the next generation a voice on climate change.

The singer songwriter is backing the Consider Us Campaign that will link school children globally to deliver — "the real message" — on climate change to world leaders.

Arno penned the song, 'Emergency', earlier this year, while working in London and Spain, with legendary British producer Youth. It will be released as a single off his third solo album, 'Wonderful Wild', which is scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2010.

After hearing about the Consider Us Campaign, Arno felt instinctively that the track suited the concept as if it had been written for it. Prior to its release as a single, 'Emergency' will be used by the United Nations as their global warming anthem to heat up the Consider Us Campaign. The rock legend wants South African finance and investment institutions to seal the deal.

Arno will be working behind the scenes with Theo Crous on this campaign, adding the voices of Africa’s school children to the chorus, an addition that did not form part of the original track. South Africa's coolest musicians, who headed up the band The Nudies in the 1990s, will perform Arno’s hottest song yet; live at a United Nations conference that meets in Cape Town on 22-23 October 2009.

And then the song will be delivered direct to the world leaders at the biggest ever United Nations meeting on global warming that meets in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009.

Consider Us, a global advertising and multi-media campaign dreamed up by Zoom Advertising of South Africa, the country's first carbon neutral advertising agency, will collect twenty word messages about climate change from children in Cape Town, Copenhagen, Chendu, Caracas, Chennai, Chicago, Canberra and beyond.

The children's messages for Consider Us will be delivered direct to the world leaders when they meet in Denmark before Christmas to decide the future of their planet — " hot, cool, cold or perfect".

Arno Carstens explained: "What children think and say on climate change needs to be heard by the world's leaders. That's why I am backing Consider Us with a song that I hope rocks a generation".

Arno added: "We think Consider Us and Cape Town Green Week is a brilliant concept to encourage the younger generation to work with the United Nations for their future."

Theo Crous said: "It's an honour to be working with the United Nations on this. Arno and me are right behind Consider Us. It's great for children to be working with their heroes like Angelina Jolie who works for the UN as an Ambassador for Refugees."

"Angelina would be proud of what school children in South Africa are starting and I think Nelson Mandela would be thrilled with the movement the country's youth have started," Theo added.

Steve Massey, Managing Director of Zoom Advertising explained: "Important people will debate big issues and make crucial commitments regarding climate change and carbon emissions. But the most important people will not be there: the ones who will inherit the outcome of these decisions — the children."

Steve added: "That's why Consider Us and the track, 'Emergency', which we hope will become the global warming anthem, is critical. The voices of the children need to be heard in Copenhagen."

Arno and Theo will perform 'Emergency' with Arno's full band live at the start of the 2009 UNEP Finance Initiative Global Roundtable 'Financing change, Changing finance', 22-23 October, 2009, Cape Town International Conference Centre (CTICC), Cape Town, South Africa.