The document discusses the dire threat of climate change according to experts. A senior advisor to the German Chancellor and the EU warns that climate change has reached the "end game" and threatens the "very survival of our civilization." Global temperatures and greenhouse gas emissions are skyrocketing due to industrialization. If business continues as usual, there will be accelerated sea level rise, extreme weather, famines, water shortages and climate refugees leading to war. We have begun the first mass extinction and extermination event in Earth's history. A climate scientist says she is often asked to provide hope but doesn't have any - what is needed is courage, not hope.

6. “CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOW
REACHING THE END GAME…
THE ISSUE IS THE VERY
SURVIVAL OF OUR
CIVILISATION”
PROF HANS JOACHIM SCHELLNHUBER
SENIOR ADVISOR TO
GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL, EUROPEAN UNION AND POPE FRANCIS

7. GLOBAL TEMPERATURES ARE
SKYROCKETING
1880

8. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ARE
SKYROCKETING Industrial age began

9. Positive feedback
loops – “Climate
change is not
simply a matter of
cause and effect.
It’s more like a
vicious circle.”
Yale Climate Connections

10. CONSEQUENCES FOR
“BUSINESS AS USUAL”
● Accelerating sea level rise
● Storms, droughts, wildfires,
desertification & crop failure
● Deaths due to heat stress
● Famine, water shortages, refugees
● War

11. WE HAVE BEGUN EARTH’S 6th MASS EXTINCTION

12. WE HAVE BEGUN EARTH’S 1st MASS EXTERMINATION

18. Dear Founders, CEOs, CCOs, CMOs, CFOs, MDs and CDs of the advertising industry,
You didn’t think we’d forget about you?
We know you like things simple so here they are:
We’re not on the verge of the Sixth Mass Extinction. We’re in it.
If everything on the planet dies, we die.
That’s not a distant future. We are only a few years away from an irreversible temperature climb,
although biodiversity destruction may get us first.
“What can I do?”​ you’re thinking.​ “I’m just the Founder/CEO/CMO/CCO/CFO/MD/CD of a global
advertising agency.”
The answer is: you can do anything you want and you can shift mass behavior in a heartbeat.
One of the reasons we’ve got here is because you’ve been selling things to people that they
don’t need. You are the manipulators and architects of that consumerist frenzy. Imagine what
would happen if you devoted those skills to something better.
No, making a small campaign to give up drinking from plastic straws is not going to cut it.
Neither is doing some pro-bono for an anti-palm oil initiative.
Here’s the thing you can do:
Declare a climate & ecological emergency and act accordingly. Persuade your clients and their
audiences to do the same.
If you don’t make this change, consumers will insist you do. Look at the streets of London in the
last month. People are beginning to see where the problems lie, and soon they will see you.
You have an extraordinary moment to be on the right side of history. That’s not something that
can get postponed to Q3. It needs action right now.
Just Do It.
Be All That You Can Be.
Impossible Is Nothing.
We’re here to support you make the transition.
Contact us at ​earthisworthit@gmail.com​.
Extinction Rebellion

26. THIS IS AN
EMERGENCY
Our climate & ecological crisis is a lot worse than even the
gloomiest scientists predicted. The Amazon Rainforest, aka
‘the lungs of the earth’, is on fire, while others are logged at
record speed.
The ice caps are melting, including the Himalayan ‘3rd Pole’
– a glacier supplying fresh water to 1bn people. Siberian
permafrosts, predicted to last until 2090 – are also on fire
now, releasing stores of powerful greenhouse gasses capable
of kickstarting nightmarish feedback loops of heating and
more melting.
Insects and oceans are being poisoned. We’re deep in a
6th mass extinction. Do not believe government hype:
the Paris Agreement’s 2050 target might be a miracle of
negotiation, but it's still a death sentence, even if we stick
to the plan. We are currently on track to reach 4° by 2100 –
that spells death for us. Death from starvation as crops fail
from heat and soil degradation. Death by violence and war
as we compete for resources – the complete breakdown of
civilisation. In our lifetime. Here, in the West. Some suggest
this is imminent.
Right now our hyper-carbon lifestyles, normalised and
encouraged by the advertising industry, are killing people on
the other side of the planet. We’re emitting more CO2 than
ever before as we continue to consume, travel and live out of
balance with nature. Gen Z and younger will never forgive
us. We are all complicit.
It's time to tell the truth and imagine a new future.
Business-as-usual is over whether we like it or not.
An apocalyptic recap
It’s up to us whether we want any part in deciding what happens
next. Whatever your position in the industry, here are some suggestions:
XR AGENCY TOOLKIT

27. ISSUE GOES HERE ISSUE GOES HERE SUBJECT HERE | TOPIC HERETOPIC HERE | SUBJECT HERE
CEOs
WORK
TOGETHER
WHILE THERE’S
STILL TIME
Emotionally connect with the
climate & ecological crisis.
Consider the implications for your future and that of
your family, employees and customers. On our current
trajectory, they will all be gone. Diplomatic responses
are unwelcome. Act boldly or be on the wrong side
of history.
This is not all on you: your employees, competitors and
colleagues are reading this too. Support each other. Rival
businesses must become your new partners. Cancel your
next appointment, pick up the phone and arrange to meet
your fellow CEOs. Take decisive, groundbreaking
action together. We could be hours away from an
industry paradigm shift if you have the will. Which of you
will be first to make the call?
Though train-first travel policies, vegan-only catering,
switching to renewable energy all help, don’t procrastinate
getting your houses in order… Get on the big job:
resigning toxic business together and telling the
truth to yourselves, your clients and the public.
Proactively pitch to communicate the crisis on behalf of
the government: they’ve been lying so long they need all
the help they can get.
CREATIVES
TELL THE
TRUTH
Publicly refuse to work for toxic clients
no matter the agency
Sign up to this pledge — www.creativeandclimate.com — and
encourage others to do the same. Change the script, make
real eco-friendliness appealing on screen. Is your campaign
going to consign a million novelty plastic trinkets to the sea or
landfill in the process? Take that idea off the wall.
Lead by example, even if it’s just by refusing to fly to an
international shoot or awards ceremony: Trophies are not
indulgences; they are tokens of business-as-usual.
Have a read of our recommendations to CEOs – if they won’t
do their part, then organise an internal rebellion. Demand or
find a replacement who will. Bring your creative powers to
Extinction Rebellion – be in the news, not just the ad break.
PRODUCTION
PUSH BACK
Say no to flights for shoots. Get vegetarian / vegan catering.
No more plastic water bottles on set. Share equipment and
resources around teams and colleagues in other agencies,
rather than it all sitting in a cupboard unused Engage with
AdGreen’s recommended practices.
STRATEGISTS
AMPLIFY PEOPLE
AND PLANET
This is the voice of the consumer: new Ipsos MORI
polling shows 85% of Britons are now concerned about
climate change. The majority (52%) are deeply concerned.
Share these proof points for radical action within your
agency, and help your clients catch up by reframing the
consumer need as a human need.
Think beyond audience, category and client, into ESG –
Environmental, Social, Governance criteria – with equality,
wellbeing and human rights becoming key performance
indicators. Create new categories for success. In this exciting space
there will be risks. Tellthetruth:theriskofinactionisfargreater.
It’s not just about the rational business case; this
is about whether we live or die. Challenge clients to
fundamentally transform - it’s what the public wants, society
needs, and the planet demands.
FREELANCERS
WORK FOR
THE GOOD,
NOT THE BAD
Share news from other employers. Whistleblow on bad
agencies, including their secret toxic side-businesses hiding
bad clients, and sabotage their efforts. If you’re not on a
billable gig, use your expertise to help School Strikes or
Extinction Rebellion. If not, practice archery and opening
food tins with your teeth.
OFFICE MANAGERS
LEAD BY EXAMPLE
Cancel your subscription to industry magazines that place
climate-denying politicians like Nigel Farage on the cover.
Order vegan or vegetarian catering, switch to a renewable
energy supplier, turn off lights at night. Get a food recycling
bin. If your office has a canteen, pressure them to reduce
waste. Kill-joy alert: consider the environmental impact of
flying everyone on a team-building trip.
HUMAN RESOURCES
WHAT YOUR
DEPARTMENT
SHOULD DO
You’re the gatekeepers of structural change! Track
carbon emissions, recruit only people who understand that
this is an emergency. Bring environmentally aware and
sustainable hiring into the core of your business.
Work with your leadership to assist staff in attending
Greta Thunberg’s Global Climate Strike
(20 – 27 September). Offer your best and brightest to help
Extinction Rebellion’s Media & Messaging team from
October 7th. Encourage all employees to work remotely from
the streets during the protests and support those who are
arrested – ensure their jobs are safe.
Invite XR and school strikers into building to do The Talk.
Read our book This Is Not A Drill
and buy a copy for everyone in the office.
bit.ly/drillxr
ISSUE GOES HERE ISSUE GOES HERE SUBJECT HERE | TOPIC HERETOPIC HERE | SUBJECT HERE
CEOs
WORK
TOGETHER
WHILE THERE’S
STILL TIME
Emotionally connect with the
climate & ecological crisis.
Consider the implications for your future and that of
your family, employees and customers. On our current
trajectory, they will all be gone. Diplomatic responses
are unwelcome. Act boldly or be on the wrong side
of history.
This is not all on you: your employees, competitors and
colleagues are reading this too. Support each other. Rival
businesses must become your new partners. Cancel your
next appointment, pick up the phone and arrange to meet
your fellow CEOs. Take decisive, groundbreaking
action together. We could be hours away from an
industry paradigm shift if you have the will. Which of you
will be first to make the call?
Though train-first travel policies, vegan-only catering,
switching to renewable energy all help, don’t procrastinate
getting your houses in order… Get on the big job:
resigning toxic business together and telling the
truth to yourselves, your clients and the public.
Proactively pitch to communicate the crisis on behalf of
the government: they’ve been lying so long they need all
the help they can get.
CREATIVES
TELL THE
TRUTH
Publicly refuse to work for toxic clients
no matter the agency
Sign up to this pledge — www.creativeandclimate.com — and
encourage others to do the same. Change the script, make
real eco-friendliness appealing on screen. Is your campaign
going to consign a million novelty plastic trinkets to the sea or
landfill in the process? Take that idea off the wall.
Lead by example, even if it’s just by refusing to fly to an
international shoot or awards ceremony: Trophies are not
indulgences; they are tokens of business-as-usual.
Have a read of our recommendations to CEOs – if they won’t
do their part, then organise an internal rebellion. Demand or
find a replacement who will. Bring your creative powers to
Extinction Rebellion – be in the news, not just the ad break.
PRODUCTION
PUSH BACK
Say no to flights for shoots. Get vegetarian / vegan catering.
No more plastic water bottles on set. Share equipment and
resources around teams and colleagues in other agencies,
rather than it all sitting in a cupboard unused Engage with
AdGreen’s recommended practices.
STRATEGISTS
AMPLIFY PEOPLE
AND PLANET
This is the voice of the consumer: new Ipsos MORI
polling shows 85% of Britons are now concerned about
climate change. The majority (52%) are deeply concerned.
Share these proof points for radical action within your
agency, and help your clients catch up by reframing the
consumer need as a human need.
Think beyond audience, category and client, into ESG –
Environmental, Social, Governance criteria – with equality,
wellbeing and human rights becoming key performance
indicators. Create new categories for success. In this exciting space
there will be risks. Tellthetruth:theriskofinactionisfargreater.
It’s not just about the rational business case; this
is about whether we live or die. Challenge clients to
fundamentally transform - it’s what the public wants, society
needs, and the planet demands.
FREELANCERS
WORK FOR
THE GOOD,
NOT THE BAD
Share news from other employers. Whistleblow on bad
agencies, including their secret toxic side-businesses hiding
bad clients, and sabotage their efforts. If you’re not on a
billable gig, use your expertise to help School Strikes or
Extinction Rebellion. If not, practice archery and opening
food tins with your teeth.
OFFICE MANAGERS
LEAD BY EXAMPLE
Cancel your subscription to industry magazines that place
climate-denying politicians like Nigel Farage on the cover.
Order vegan or vegetarian catering, switch to a renewable
energy supplier, turn off lights at night. Get a food recycling
bin. If your office has a canteen, pressure them to reduce
waste. Kill-joy alert: consider the environmental impact of
flying everyone on a team-building trip.
HUMAN RESOURCES
WHAT YOUR
DEPARTMENT
SHOULD DO
You’re the gatekeepers of structural change! Track
carbon emissions, recruit only people who understand that
this is an emergency. Bring environmentally aware and
sustainable hiring into the core of your business.
Work with your leadership to assist staff in attending
Greta Thunberg’s Global Climate Strike
(20 – 27 September). Offer your best and brightest to help
Extinction Rebellion’s Media & Messaging team from
October 7th. Encourage all employees to work remotely from
the streets during the protests and support those who are
arrested – ensure their jobs are safe.
Invite XR and school strikers into building to do The Talk.
Read our book This Is Not A Drill
and buy a copy for everyone in the office.
bit.ly/drillxr

33. AS A CLIMATE SCIENTIST, I AM OFTEN ASKED TO TALK ABOUT
HOPE.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS BLEAK, THE ORGANIZERS SAY.
TELL US A HAPPY STORY. GIVE US HOPE. THE PROBLEM IS,
I DON’T HAVE ANY…
…WE NEED COURAGE NOT HOPE”
DR KATE MARVEL
NASA’S GODDARD
INSTITUTE