Every year on the 22nd of April Earth Day is observed worldwide. In Pakistan also environmental protection organisations and agencies observe this day. The theme of this year’s day is Climate Action. Due to coronavirus lockdowns across the world, this day is being observed virtually in cyberspace.
Climate change represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and the life-support systems that make our world habitable.
At the end of 2020, nations will be expected to increase their national commitments to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. The time is now for citizens to call for greater global ambition to tackle our climate crisis. Unless every country in the world steps up – and steps up with urgency and ambition — we are consigning current and future generations to a dangerous future.
The world’s largest civic event is going digital for the first time in its history. The organisers will demand that leaders take science seriously, listen to their people and push for action at every level of society to stop the rising tide of climate change.
“We can make a better world for everyone. Tell everyone you know about April 22 and join us at earthday.org as we flood the world with messages of hope, optimism and, above all — action,” stated a message on the online website www.earthday.org/earth-day-live.
On April 22, 1970, over 20 million Americans (about 10% of the U.S. population at the time) took to the streets, college campuses and hundreds of cities to protest environmental ignorance and demand a new way forward for our planet. The first Earth Day is credited with launching the modern environmental movement and is now recognized as the planet’s most significant civic event.
The first Earth Day in 1970 launched a wave of action, including the passage of landmark environmental laws in the United States. The Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts were created in response to the first Earth Day in 1970, as well as the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Many countries soon adopted similar laws.
Earth Day continues to hold major international significance: In 2016, the United Nations chose Earth Day as the day when the historic Paris Agreement on climate change was signed into force.
On Earth Day 2020, we seize all the tools and actions that we have, big and small, to change our lives and change our world, not for one day, but forever.
While the coronavirus may force us to keep our distance, it will not force us to keep our voices down. The only thing that will change the world is a bold and unified demand for a new way forward.
We may be apart, but through the power of digital media, we’re also more connected than ever.
On April 22, join for 24 hours of action in a global digital mobilization that drives actions big and small, gives diverse voices a platform and demands bold action for people and the planet.
Over the 24 hours of Earth Day, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day will fill the digital landscape with global conversations, calls to action, performances, video teach-ins and more.
While Earth Day may be going digital, our goal remains the same: to mobilize the world to take the most meaningful actions to make a difference.
No matter where you are, you can make a difference. And you’re not alone, because together, we can save the Earth.
Visit www.earthday.org on April 22 as we build an Earth Day unlike any other — We’re flooding the digital landscape with live-streamed discussions, a global digital surge, and 24 hours of actions that you can take, right now and from wherever you are.
Earth Day 2020 will be far more than a day. It must be a historical moment when citizens of the world rise up in a united call for the creativity, innovation, ambition, and bravery that we need to meet our climate crisis and seize the enormous opportunities of a zero-carbon future.
