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Artists rack up an enormous footprint,
and we have a responsibility to address
this and be a voice for change
ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS TOURING MUSICIANS CAN
NOW CONTRIBUTE TO A FOSSIL FUEL-FREE FUTURE, THANKS
TO A BRIGHT IDEA FROM CLOUD CONTROL’S HEIDI LENFFER.HEIDI LENFFER musician
When did you start to make the connection between touring
and climate change?
The connection crystallises very quickly if you allow yourself to
contemplate for a second the reality of flying for a living. I represent
one of many artists who are hyperaware about climate change, but
felt simultaneously powerless and somewhat hypocritical about
being a voice for environmental awareness from the seat of a Boeing- It wasn’t until I spent a good chunk of time off the road, back in
2014 to 2017 while writing our last album, that I got to truly disconnect
from the touring lifestyle – I knew something had to change if I was
going to get back into the touring zone in the midst of a climate crisis.
Why is this such a huge issue?
The decisions we collectively make about climate change will literally
determine whether or not our planet remains habitable to human life
in the coming centuries, so it’s quite simply a matter of existence.
Musicians only make up a tiny blip of the collective flight emissions,
and the entire aviation industry only makes up three percent of total
world carbon emissions, but a single two-week band tour creates 28
tonnes of carbon emissions, which is the same as an entire house-
hold generates over the course of a year. So in terms of our individual
impact relative to other people who don’t fly for a living, artists rack
up an enormous footprint, and we have a responsibility to address
this and be a voice for change.
How did the idea for an artist-led solar farm come about?
I spent four months interviewing climate scientists to understand
the problem and solution for reversing the trajectory of this warming
planet – and the message rang through loud and clear that a global
transition to renewable energy sources is the most urgent change
that needs to happen. This got me exploring what would be involved
for artists to finance renewable energy projects, and before I knew it
I was googling, ‘how much does a solar farm cost’.Who are some of the artists who’ve signed up?
Vance Joy, Midnight Oil, Peking Duk, Jack River, Cloud Control, Set
Mo, The Jezabels, Urthboy, Big Scary and heaps more.Talk us through how your initiative FEAT. works...
Artists can invest as little as five dollars or up to $500,000 to buy a
unit in a managed fund that exclusively finances renewable-energy
projects. These projects pump out clean energy, which is sold to
the grid, and any profits are returned to the fund and distributed
annually to the artist investors. Artists can invest a lump sum or
make recurring payments to create an ongoing investment that can
see them earn a target of 5.2% annual returns every year. This is
designed to be an ethical nest egg, where artists can help secure a
future for our planet while building some long-term financial security
for themselves.
Where is your first farm and what energy results are you
expecting from it?
We’ve just started building our first solar farm, called Brigalow Solar
Farm, in south-west Queensland. It will be 35 megawatts strong,
which is powerful enough to supply clean energy to 11,300 houses
annually for the next 30 years.What role do musicians have to play in educating people
about the reality of the climate crisis?
I think to be a musician you need to be braver than the average
person, have an urge to create and a great capacity to imagine the
world differently. These exact three attributes are what we need to
get humanity out of the fossil fuel-obsessed mess we’re currently
in. Musicians are equipped with the inner resources and the public
platforms that can amplify the climate action movement in ways
that politicians never will.