Earth Day, April 22: Time to act not listen and say

Since 1970, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 every year and the theme for Earth Day for 2021 is ‘Restore Our Earth’’, focusing on the achievements of the environmental movements, emerging green technologies and natural processes that can repair the world's ecosystems. In this way, the theme discards the notion that mitigation or adaptation are the only way to handle climate change thus raising awareness of the importance of long-term ecological sustainability at the grassroots levels

Globally in the late 1960s, there was a better awareness of environmental concerns and numerous environmentalists tried to stimulate the conservation movements like formulation of legislations, forbidding of the use of pesticides etc to arouse the public’s evolving environmental consciousness in order to drive environmental protections into the political agendas which resulted in organizing the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, and it was designed as an “environmental teach-in” to educate the importance of environmental conservation.

Documented as the planet’s largest yearly civic event, Earth Day has laid a range of environmental activities and campaigns, including the passage of landmark environmental laws and reforestation projects.

This year, during the pandemic, ecological issues are being prioritized. The areas to be touched include the Reforestation efforts, Climate and environmental literacy, Regenerative agriculture, Equity and environmental justice, Citizen Science, Climate restoration technologies and Cleanups.

Different international organization are conducting various activities to draw the attention of the various stakeholders responsible for the Earth’s future like UN Women emphasizing to Unite with Generation Equality to take climate action. UNICEF is reinforcing to achieve the Global Goals by children everywhere need to learn about the climate crisis and how to tackle it. That's why we're supporting The Worlds Lesson in asking children to write a short message on why learning about climate change matters to them.

Climate change and other environmental degradations have devastated natural systems, leading to novel and lethal diseases as well as a collapse of the global economy. But just as climate change and coronavirus agonizingly remind hominids of the destruction they’ve caused, ‘Restore Our Earth’ prompts the opportunities that lay ahead.

Human should Restore Earth not just because they upkeep the natural world, but because we live on it. All of us need a vigorous Earth to support our livelihoods, jobs, happiness, health and survival. A fit planet should not a choice but it is a need.

It is to divert the attention to the urgency of the climate crisis and environmental degradation and the need for immediate action like many important environmental events that have happened on Earth Day since its inception in 1970 as already highlighted, including the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2016.

At the same time April 22, is also an International Mother Earth Day, as announced by the United Nations back in 2009. UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, In an avowal to spot the Day stressed the decisive actions to shelter our planet from both the coronavirus and the prevailing threat of environmental disruption. “Mother Earth is clearly advising a plea to action. Let’s prompt more than ever on this International Mother Earth Day that we want a move to a more bearable economy that benefits both planets.

During the early 21st century, Earth Day’s many events included raising awareness about a number of rising environmental concerns particularly the hazards of global warming and the need for renewable clean energy sources. The international Paris Climate Agreement in 2016 was symbolically surfaced for signatures on Earth Day were a titanic step. Unfortunately In 2020 many of the planned events and activities on the eve of 50th anniversary celebration of Earth Day were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year US Leaders’ Summit on Climate is being hosted by US President Biden from 22 to 23 April along with the participation of 40 world leaders. The main aim of the Summit is to stimulate struggles by the world’s major economies to keep the vital Paris Agreement goal in controlling global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within limits

Key economies should declare their new national climate action plans branded as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).In addition to the major economies, frontrunners of countries that are key stakeholders in the climate contest will participate. These include countries that have demonstrated strong climate leadership, are especially vulnerable to climate impacts, or are charting innovative pathways to a net-zero economy.

The leader summit would be followed by the vital United Nations Climate Change Conference in November 2021 in Glasgow. UN Climate Change and other UN agencies are required to explain how the Paris Agreement works, and what is the concept of net-zero emissions are. Alarmingly last week the world’s oldest snow chunks have started melting and many beautiful small islands will only be remembered in museums and historical manuscripts.

Among other efforts after Earth Day 2021, the main motivation should be our global thrust for climate literacy campaigns urging governments to make climate literacy a fundamental feature of school syllabuses across the globe. So the leaders of tomorrow world might formulate solutions today.

Lastly, the synchronized global efforts are inevitable for financing the transition to net-zero emissions to rejuvenate our ‘unfortunate planet.’