Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22. Earth Day is widely recognised as a large observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behaviour and create global, national and local policy changes.

Many important environmental events have happened on Earth Day since its inception in 1970, including the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2016. The theme for this year is ‘Restore Our Earth’.

Several major climate-related events will take place in parallel on April 22,  including the Leaders’ Summit on Climate, hosted by the United States, and ‍an Exponential Climate Action Summit on Financing the Race to Zero Emissions.

History of Earth Day

The first Earth Day took place in 1970. The event was started by Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin in the US after a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Senator Nelson decided to take action to push back against the destruction of Earth.

Outraged by oil spills, smog and polluted rivers, 20 million people took to the streets, protesting what they recognised as an environmental crisis. It was the planet’s largest civic event at the time and compelled governments to take concrete actions, including passing environmental laws and establishing environmental agencies. 

The first Earth Day is credited with launching the modern environmental movement.

In 1990, Earth Day went global, mobilising 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It also prompted President Bill Clinton to award Senator Nelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest honor given to civilians in the US — for his role as Earth Day founder.

International Mother Earth Day

April 22 is also observed as International Mother Earth Day, as proclaimed by the United Nations in 2009.

Ecosystems support all life on Earth. The healthier our ecosystems are, the healthier the planet and its people. Restoring our damaged ecosystems will help to end poverty, combat climate change and prevent mass extinction. 

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which will officially launch with World Environment Day 2021 (June 5), will help us stop, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and every ocean. But we will only succeed if everyone plays a part.

What is the Paris Agreement?

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on December 12, 2015 and entered into force on November 4, 2016.

Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century.

The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.

The Paris Agreement reaffirms that developed countries should take the lead in providing financial assistance to countries that are less endowed and more vulnerable, while for the first time also encouraging voluntary contributions by other Parties. 

Although climate change action needs to be massively increased to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, the years since its entry into force have already sparked low-carbon solutions and new markets. 

More and more countries, regions, cities and companies are establishing carbon neutrality targets. Zero-carbon solutions are becoming competitive across economic sectors representing 25 per cent of emissions. This trend is most noticeable in the power and  transport sectors and has created many new business opportunities for early movers.

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