Ellie Goulding launched into an impassioned speech about why every person needs to be concerned about the planet while being honored at the recent TIME 100 Impact Awards and Gala for her climate change advocacy.
"I am no different to anyone living on the planet right now. I suffer from anxiety and fear about world events. The climate crisis is never far from my thoughts," she said. "Right now the Antarctic is 40 degrees Celsius hotter than it ought to be. The Arctic is 30 degrees Celsius hotter," adding, "This is the stuff of nightmares."
Despite the dark tone of her message, she wasn't all doom and gloom. "There is still a small window of possibility, but we must act now," she urged. "It is by taking action that I maintain hope," noting, "There are millions of us, working towards a different future."
Ellie also expressed faith in "young people," saying they are "already already switched on, engaged, informed. They already know." She added, "I haven’t met a young fan who hasn’t been worried about climate change."
Because of what she's witnessed, Ellie stressed, "the leaders -- the powers that be -- need enlightening."
She closed by encouraging, "Our goal is a stable, abundant biosphere providing for a healthy, peaceful human population. We can see it. We can feel it."
Ellie performed two songs off of her 2020 album, Brightest Blue, during the ceremony, "Power" and "Flux." She also sang a stripped-down version of "Love Me Like You Do."
The singer advocated for climate protection at November's Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. She's also been named the ambassador for wildlife charity WWF.