Ed Sheeran has recently been speaking to BBC Radio London, to whom he explained his intentions on buying up land in order to “rewild as much of the UK as I can“, planting trees in the purchased areas. Sheeran braced himself for criticism, noting that “I feel like I am going to get my head bitten off anytime I say that, as my job is not a hugely sustainable job as I go and play in cities, but I am trying my best“.
The news comes as Sheeran recently admitted his next Mathematics tour might be his last large-scale one, preferring to spend more time with his wife and 16-month old daughter Lyra. The singer-songwriter admitted on the Teach Me A Lesson podcast that “I would hate to get to 20 years’ time and have a relationship with my kids that had suffered because I’d chosen work over them …. I honestly think that this next tour that I’m going on, at the end of the tour, I can’t see myself going on one of them like that again.“
Of course, Sheeran isn’t the only one in the music industry starting to think over their effects on the environment. Fellow British artists Coldplay said back in October that they plan to make their next world tour as eco-friendly as possible, saying “We’re very conscious that the planet is facing a climate crisis. So we’ve spent the last two years consulting with environmental experts to make this tour as sustainable as possible, and, just as importantly, to harness the tour’s potential to push things forward.“
And it’s not just been the artists getting involved. A number of major record labels have recently signed the Music Climate Pact, which aims to decarbonise the music industry. The Pact sees various record labels having to commit themselves to certain organisations by next February, such as the Science Based Targets Initiative or the UN’s Race to Zero programme. Some of the major labels that signed the pact include Sony, Warner and Universal Music Groups.
In the words of #MusicClimatePact Supporter @musicdeclares‘ campaign, there’s #NOMUSICONADEADPLANET. Supporters help achieve the Pact’s goals by sharing data, knowledge, and resources, bringing the industry together to achieve our climate goals. Read more: https://t.co/eV6omO5cad pic.twitter.com/z8ha4TcYmf
— AIM (@AIM_UK) December 27, 2021
Another influential ‘signee’ was Beggars Group, whose CEO had this to say: “The Music Climate Pact shows the willingness of the whole music industry to work collaboratively on climate issues. Building on IMPALA’s project to develop a carbon calculator tool, all signatories will be pulling in the same direction on sustainability topics.“
As for Sheeran, his upcoming (and possibly final) stadium tour will be starting next April in Dublin, ending in September 2022 and taking the star all over Europe. If you’re interested in finding out about tickets, you can look here.
