#CarbonPriceTag Song
Do you remember Jessie J's 2011 hit "Price Tag"? In 2017, I rewrote the lyrics of this song (yes, including the rap part) on the train to Paris, while on my way to a meeting of Steering Committee of the World Bank Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition I served on. As I looked through the agenda of the meeting, I wondered: how might we engage far more people in this important topic?
Suddenly, when thinking of Jessie J’s song, the words started flowing and the reimagined version was ready within an hour.
That same year, I randomly met the California-based group The Seastars. Immediately after, they got on board. Together we finetuned the lyrics, which you can find here. In the following years, they performed the song live many times: from events at cathedrals and festivals, to climate strikes and (high level) business events across the USA.
California’s Governor Newsom is sung onto the stage by the Sea Stars performing “Carbon Needs a Price Tag”, at the large #VERGE19 conference of GreenBiz in September 2019.
“Collaborating with Paulette was such a joy, as her creativity, ingenuity and ability to channel her passion for sustainability into artistic expression is truly unique. The Seastars performed our collaborative song, Carbon Needs a Price Tag, on the mainstage of VERGE 19 to a live audience of thousands of industry and government leaders, ushering California Governor Gavin Newsom on stage. More purposeful creative endeavors from Paulette to come!”
Photo credit: VERGE19 conference, San Francisco (by Greenbiz)