UK stars turn to Shakespeare in Valentine's Day climate campaign

[February 12, 2015]  LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - British celebrities including Homeland actor David Harewood, comedian Stephen Fry and musician Jarvis Cocker have lent their support to a "Show the Love" campaign to raise awareness about climate change ahead of Valentine's Day.

In a short film, the stars take turns to recite fragments of Shakespeare's sonnet, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day", which touches on love, mortality and nature's changing seasons.

The film by the Climate Coalition of more than 100 organizations including Greenpeace, Oxfam, and UNICEF, aims to put pressure on leaders ahead of a Paris summit in December to agree a U.N. deal to limit global warming.

"When I think about my children and how different their futures might be as a result of climate change, it makes me determined to do something about it," Harewood said in a statement.

The campaign asks the public to "show their love" for the planet on Valentine's Day by sharing the film, wearing green hearts and discussing what could be lost to climate change.

"Climate change is already happening yet not a lot is going on when it comes to doing something about it," Fry said. "When you think about losing what you love because of climate change, it's a no-brainer to want to see things change for good."

(Reporting By Kieran Guilbert)

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