Bhubaneswar: Every year, June 5 is observed as the World Environment Day and this year is the 50th anniversary of the largest global platform for environmental public outreach. World Environment Day has been celebrated by millions of people across the world since its establishment by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) during the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment in 1972. At that time, the theme was ‘Only One Earth’.
World Environment Day aims to bring together millions of people from across the globe, engaging them in the effort to protect and restore the Earth. The significance of World Environment Day 2023 is immense, from raising awareness about environmental issues to initiating transformational changes in environmental policies worldwide.
As our planet’s natural resources continue to dwindle, environmental approaches have become overly politicised, and impact-lacking plans have failed to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change, pushing our planet toward an imminent ecological collapse. In such dire circumstances, World Environment Day 2023 stands as a powerful catalyst for environmental activists, providing a platform to voice their concerns and highlight the negative impacts of global warming on the global community.
For 50 years, World Environment Day has been instrumental in making common people conscious of the plight of our surrounding nature and impelling them to take affirmative action.
Keeping in view the havoc caused to the environment by plastic use, this year the theme of the World Environment Day is #BeatPlasticPollution.
More than 400 million tons of plastic are produced annually, with less than 10 per cent recycled and an estimated 19-23 million tons ending up in bodies of water each year. Microplastics also pose a threat to health, with each person consuming an estimated 50,000 plastic particles annually.
The World Environment Day encourages awareness and action for environmental protection by the global community. Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs), businesses, and government entities back the cause.
The 50th anniversary of World Environment Day will be hosted by Côte D’Ivoire, with the theme of “solutions to plastic pollution”. In previous years, the themes included “Beat Air Pollution” (2019), “Biodiversity” (2020), and “Ecosystem Restoration” (2021). The government of the Netherlands is supporting this year’s World Environment Day. The nation is one of the countries taking ambitious action along the plastic lifecycle. It is a signatory of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment and a member of the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter.
Consequently, to check global warming, it is important that we halve annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Without action, exposure to air pollution beyond safe guidelines will increase by 50 per cent within the decade, and plastic waste flowing into aquatic ecosystems will triple by 2040. The situation requires immediate action. Therefore, this year, governments, companies, and other stakeholders must scale up and speed up actions to solve this crisis with available science and solutions to tackle the problem.
