How low can we go for climate?

THE BRIEF

UNEP is rallying the world to act on climate for World Environment Day 2026.

The planet is sending signals that are getting harder to ignore: storms that last longer, rivers that burst their banks, glaciers cracking into the sea. World Environment Day 2026 was hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan, with climate action as the theme. UNEP needed a campaign that told people the crisis is already here, while at the same time convincing them that their actions still matter. It had to cut through climate fatigue, work in all six UN languages and give partners worldwide something simple to put into action.

THE SOLUTION

Our spark came from a line drafted for the UN Secretary-General: “Our planet is sending a signal too hot to ignore.” If the planet is speaking, are we listening, and what signal will we send back?
We blended sound and image into a visual identity inspired by the oscilloscope, where audio becomes a visible waveform. Bold typographic cards moved audiences from warning (“The signals are getting louder”) to solutions (“You can’t embargo the sun or sanction the wind”). Alongside a PSA film, we delivered social assets, fact carousels, event announcers and digital billboards in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
Our answer to climate fatigue was to replace it with energy. The Global Limbo Dance Challenge asked one playful question: how low can we go? The limbo became a symbol for lower emissions, lower risk and lower heat. We worked with South African choreographer Rudi Smit and 20 dancers to create Deep Down, a climate dance film set to the track by Alok (feat. Never Dull). Heat-map colours ran through the wardrobe and grade. A simple tutorial meant anyone could join in, because it never mattered how low you could go. Every video was a signal.

THE FILM

THE IMPACT

People around the world responded with their signals. The campaign drew 180 million video views and reached more than 100 million people on social media. On 5 June, #WorldEnvironmentDay and #NowForClimate were the top two trending hashtags on X. More than 58,000 articles carried the story across 177 countries.
The limbo challenge generated 17.4 million views on UNEP’s own channels, and then the dancing spread. Jason Momoa, Amber Valletta, UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen and UN Goodwill Ambassadors took part. Their videos generated 26.8 million views and 1.1 million engagements. When K-pop star Mark Lee joined, his fans turned a single video into 8.8 million views and more than a million engagements.
With every new face, the challenge shifted from an invitation into visible, collective action. By depicting the urgency of the crises through an energetic, emotive dance, we gave millions of people a way to answer the planet’s call together.

THE DETAILS