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| K-pop girl group BLACKPINK delivers a speech during Google's "Dear Earth" event, which took place Saturday (U.S. time.) Courtesy of YG Entertainment |
By Dong Sun-hwa
The members of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK have raised their voices to protect the Earth and the environment.
The four-piece act, a goodwill ambassador for the upcoming 26th Climate Change Conference (COP26) and an honorary ambassador for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, delivered a special speech during Google's "Dear Earth" event Saturday (U.S. time). The YouTube Originals special "Dear Earth" was held to promote action on the climate crisis that has been wreaking havoc around the world.
"We are growing up on a planet which has gotten sicker and sicker every day since we were born," Jisoo said in Korean. "People of our generation are tightly connected to each other and we are the ones who will face what will happen to the Earth in the future. Therefore, we have to be more aware of the environmental crisis."
Jennie added, "We are the first generation to have grown up in the digital age and that makes us unique. Since we have grown up connected with each other through technology, we have a lot in common regardless of where we live on the Earth. And today, we are united once again, as we are facing a common problem associated with the times that we live in."
Rose said that she realized the seriousness of the problem after noticing the amount of waste the planet is collecting each year, while Jisoo revealed that she woke up to the issue after seeing the rapid melting of the polar ice caps.
Jisoo elaborated, "Clearly, climate change is happening and our nature is disappearing… In the near future, there will be a generational shift. This means that now, our generation is responsible for taking care of the Earth."
Lisa continued in Thai, saying, "The planet is warming too fast and our wild nature is disappearing too fast. The oceans are dying and our waste is piling up. If these situations continue, we may have no planet to save in the future. But our generation is far from powerless and our voices are impossible to ignore."
Rose said, "So our generation has to come together. We must unite and work towards this collective goal of saving the Earth. Speaking as one, we must voice our thoughts on the current state of the Earth until we can take on that responsibility ourselves, because the next critical moment is coming up very fast."
Heralding that leaders around the world will gather in Glasgow, UK, at the COP26 this November, Rose stressed that people should let them know they must take measures to halt climate change.
"Hundreds of millions of us, who will one day inherit this Earth, will be watching what happens in Glasgow next month," she added.
BLACKPINK also performed its hit, "Stay" (2016), during the event, which also featured Pope Francis, former U.S. President Barack Obama and Google CEO Sundar Pichai as guests. The YG Entertainment group was the only K-pop act to have joined the event.
