POETRY
As the world confronts the accelerating impacts of the climate crisis, poetry emerges as one of the most profound tools to awaken consciousness, stir empathy, and catalyze action. Through the economy of language and the depth of feeling, poetry gives voice to the voiceless, honors the resilience of frontline communities, and exposes the human rights consequences of a warming world.
IMPACT FOCUS:
Elevate poems that bear witness to the human toll of climate injustice, while amplifying those that celebrate resistance, adaptation, and progress—mobilizing hearts and minds to protect both people and planet.
Right Here, Right Now Poetry includes:
ABOUT
Right Here, Right Now Poetry harnesses the power of verse to confront the climate crisis through the lens of human rights. Rooted in justice, empathy, and creative defiance, the mission is to elevate poetic voices that bear witness to climate injustice, honor frontline resilience, and ignite a deeper understanding of our shared responsibility to the planet. By championing live readings, youth initiatives, and collaborative works, RHRN Poetry seeks to cultivate a global poetic movement—where words become catalysts for awareness, solidarity, and urgent action in the fight for a livable future.
RHRN Poetry, with Hot Poets as its Founding Partner, took center stage during the Opening Session of the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit at Oxford’s historic Sheldonian Theatre on June 4, 2025. Set against this iconic backdrop, poetry opened the program with emotional force—preceding powerful calls to action from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and Oxford Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey, who together underscored the role of art in driving global climate justice.
Poets Chris Redmond and Liv Torc of the acclaimed Hot Poets collective brought urgency and heart to the moment, inviting the audience to define climate justice in their own words. Drawing on these live reflections, Chris and Liv composed and performed an original poem - Chasing the Sun - during the session itself, transforming collective insight into lyrical testimony. Their presence wove poetry into the very fabric of the summit’s opening, reminding all present that climate justice is not just a policy issue—it is a human story.
ABOUT
Hot Poets is an award-winning, internationally focused arts organization using the raw emotional power of spoken word to promote climate justice. Through dynamic collaborations with leading climate experts and world-class poets across five continents, Hot Poets transforms data into deeply human stories—bridging the worlds of science, policy, and poetry to illuminate the climate crisis and the imagination needed to confront it. Their work has brought visceral truth and lyrical urgency to UN spaces, national governments, and global audiences, with standout performances at COP26, COP27, COP28, and Adaptation Weeks in Botswana and South Korea.
As the Founding Partner of RHRN Poetry, Hot Poets is central to the cultural voice of the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance. With partnerships spanning the UNFCCC’s Resilience Frontiers, the Met Office, the London School of Economics, Southbank Centre, UCL, RSPB, and The Gaia Foundation, they are reimagining how art can drive climate action at both the grassroots and global levels. Whether on stage at Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre or inside the Blue Zone at COP, Hot Poets delivers the words we need for the world we want.
OUR PARTNERS
GLOBAL PARTNER
FOUNDING PARTNER
GLOBAL PARTNER
