Remarks from Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park at UN Session on Sustainable Energy for All

We founded Music for Relief in 2005, to provide relief to victims of natural disaster and combat climate change. Although it is led by Linkin Park, its members and supporters touch all parts of the music industry, from global artists like Dave Matthews Band, Jay-Z, Steve Aoki, Juanes, and K'Naan... to music industry professionals, to the fans-- which, thankfully, often include very bright people from Universities and environmental organizations who have helped us build many successful programs. Music for Relief programs have raised over $6 million USD and planted over a million trees to help reduce global warming. In 2011, our band and team from Music For Relief were invited to meet with Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Dr. Kandeh Yumkella. We were shocked to learn that 1.3 billion people in the world don’t have access to electricity, and how that lack of electricity jeopardizes people’s health, safety, education and livelihoods. We immediately vowed our support. We called our effort "Power The World." We reached out to our fans, both online and at our concerts, about energy poverty and sustainable solutions. We created content, like the video you just saw, to tell the stories of real people impacted by their reliance on dirty and harmful fuels for cooking and light. We created programs that provide solutions like solar lights for families in Haiti, solar energy for hospitals and health clinics in Uganda, and clean biogas cook stoves for families in Nepal. Three years later, I'm happy to report that support for Power The World and Sustainable Energy For All has been strong. But I want to do more. I see the images and hear the stories like the ones we're focusing on this week, and I can't help but wonder what we can do. On Twitter yesterday, I asked our fans: If you could sit with the leaders of our world, and ask or tell them anything about the environment, what would you say? Felipo said "I would tell them to make sustainable stuff easier to reach." Olivia said "We need to have more recycling programs" Sara wants you to "stop fracking" Arreli said "come up w/ a solution on factories that emit less contamination to our air." Lura said, "i want just show them what i'd seen by myself: people who drink black water and children who play with trash." And one young fan, who went by "5 Star General", replied to me: "Ask them why they only act in their own interests. It's good to see people like you still exist, who want to try, but it's a hope most of us have lost. It's a game of the rich." That person is the one you need to be most concerned with. The ones who have lost hope. The ones who are cynical. The ones who don't believe there are lots and lots of smart, talented, dedicated people that understand what is happening and are working to fix it. That young man doesn't want to hear the words "green" or "environmentally conscious." I personally use those words more than I should. Those words are clunky and patronizing, and the fans don't want any more rhetoric. Let me be clear "who" I'm talking about when I say "fans." Some of you call them "customers." Some of you call them "supporters" or "voters" or "constituents." I want you to think about the potential of the word "fan." I know what a "fan" is. It's not someone who blindly follows you, who likes you for a nice song or a funny video. It's someone whose trust you've earned, over time, who is willing to give you one of their most scarce assets--their attention--because you have proven that you will treat it responsibly and live up to or maybe even exceed their expectations. Growing up, I was a "fan" of Apple computers. When I think back about it, one of the driving reasons was the fact that it was the first computer I ever owned, and there were programs in my schools that put Apple products in front of the students. We grew up learning on Apple--it was the foundation upon which I built my knowledge of what a computer is about. The same can happen with sustainability. In developing countries, in places without access to clean energy, let's lay the foundation with forward-thinking, sustainable programs. Let's build from the ground up thinking about the long term effects on the planet. The good and bad news is that the fans' expectations of on the subject of sustainability and the environment are surprisingly low. Which is sad. So I'll tell you how to cut through the cynicism, and exceed expectations: Inspire us. Stop trying to just scare us. We're numb to it. Stop focusing so much time on how messed up everything is. We know. The fans want to have our minds expanded by the hope in what is possible, we want to believe we're capable of getting there, and we want to know that you are doing it for the right reasons. If you give us an option we can believe in, we will speak up for it, we will buy it, we will vote for it. You just need to earn our trust. It is an honor to be back here at the United Nations today with Mr. Yumkella, and all of you, the leaders who have to opportunity to inspire fans everywhere--working towards universal energy access by 2030. Thank you for your work to bring sustainable energy solutions to all people. We look forward to continued partnership to solve this critical issue.