FAMOUS British rock band Coldplay have put their plans to tour for their new album on hold due to concerns over the impact of concerts to the environment.
“We’re not touring this album,” frontman Chris Martin said.
“We’re taking time over the next year or two, to work out how our tour can not only be sustainable [but also] how can it be actively beneficial.”
“Our next tour will be the best possible version of a tour…environmentally,” Martin said. “We would be disappointed if it’s not carbon neutral.”
Touring’s environmental impact
Staging a world tour isn’t as simple as bunging Chris Martin and his bandmates in the back of a mini-van with a map and a year’s supply of digestives.
In fact, the band’s last tour employed 109 crew, 32 trucks and nine bus drivers, who travelled to five continents, playing to 5.4 million people at 122 concerts.
There’s no easy way to calculate the band’s carbon footprint; but United Kingdom’s music industry suggests figures that live music generates 405,000 tons of greenhouse-gas emissions every year.
It’s not just flights that cause the problem. Fans travelling to and from shows are the biggest source of pollution, but there’s also an environmental cost by producing merchandise, powering the spotlights and moving stages from venue to venue. (BBC)
