International NGOs, civil society organizations, Nobel prize laureates, celebrities, the UN Foundation and individuals from around the world are calling on local and world leaders to take urgent action against poverty and climate change. The campaign, named action/2015, has been launched to create global awareness for two crucial United Nations meetings this year: the September MDG Summit in New York and the December UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in December.

To support the campaign, thirty-one celebrities, including four Nobel Laureates, issued a joint open letter urging global action this year to tackle poverty and take action on climate change. Ben Affleck, Bill Gates, Bono, Malala Yousafzai, Mary Robinson, Queen Rania al Abdullah, Shakira and Sting are among the signatories. This is an excerpt from the letter:

There are moments in history that become turning points. In our view, 2015 will be such a moment. It is the most important year for global decision-making since the start of the new millennium.

We see climate progress but not yet of the scale that is needed, and a set of goals that are hugely ambitious but will be meaningless without brave financing and implementation agreements led from the very top. If this does not change, we fear you and your fellow leaders could be sleep-walking the world towards one of the greatest failures of recent history. It’s not too late to rise to the occasion. We’re asking you to help lead that change.

For more information about action/2015, read the press release.

As part of the campaign, videos in various languages have been issued.

Photo credit: action/2015.