Environmental Leadership Canada has created “The Planet’s Scariest Bouquet” to coincide with COP28, the annual climate action conference attended by global government leaders that began on Thursday (Nov. 30) and will run until Dec. 12.

The campaign, by Zulu Alpha Kilo’s Toronto and New York offices, calls attention to a symbol of the disturbing impact of the climate crisis: two native species of flowering plants – Antarctic Pearlwort and Antarctic Hair Grass – that are growing at unprecedented rates, but shouldn’t be. The news came from a recent study published in Current Biology.

“When the team found this insight about flowers thriving for the first time in Antarctica, we knew right away that was the story that needed to be told to the world at COP28,” says Zak Mroueh, founder and creative chairman of Zulu Alpha Kilo.

The digital film features an arrangement of the thriving Antarctic flowers, and makes the point that while flowers are typically given to others to “express love,” “convey sympathy” and “gratitude,” this bouquet is a “symbol of inaction” and only exists as a result of warming temperatures due to climate change.

The film urges political leaders to act and invites people to send digital versions of the bouquet, available on its website, to elected representatives by email or by tagging them on social media. A physical bouquet – a replica of the two types of flowers – is on display at the climate conference.

“As an organization committed to building a new generation of environmental leaders for the health of our planet, this campaign is about inspiration and action,” says Beata Rasitsan, communications director at ELC. “We want this campaign to inspire people to push for action from elected leaders. A physical bouquet of these flowers should never exist, and sending a digital bouquet shows your expectation for urgent and ambitious leadership at COP28 and beyond.”

The non-profit cites two major reports released by the U.N. this November that reinforce the need for Canadian leadership. The Emissions Gap report shows the world is projected to warm by as much as 2.9 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, largely because current and planned coal, oil and gas projects would emit 3.5 times more carbon than is possible to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Production Gap report shows that Canada, the fourth biggest oil producer in the world, is projected to increase oil by 25% over 2022 levels by 2035.

“Clearly Canada needs to step up the scale and pace of climate action and do our fair share on the world stage,” says Rasitsan. “Elected leaders hear a lot from the oil and gas lobby. We need to counter that voice with those of the Canadians who expect ambitious leadership for our planet.”

The campaign is rolling out via social and digital executions.

Zulu Alpha Kilo is handling PR and media.