The 50th anniversary of Earth Day comes during a big election year, with 65 major elections worldwide. And much more is at stake than politics — the future of the planet weighs on how people vote.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we have 10 years to halve carbon emissions to avoid a climate catastrophe. But with world leaders dragging their feet, we’re heading the wrong way.
Nearly every country in the world has failed to meet goals set by the Paris Climate Accord, the international agreement to limit global warming to “well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels” this century.
And lately, the United States, the world’s second-largest carbon emitter, has been on an environmental rampage, cutting regulations for everything from methane emissions to car standards.
“I think that will build up a fairly strong constituency, and if we pull our act together, we can mobilize to reverse anything and stop anything not yet completed,” said Denis Hayes, the coordinator of the first Earth Day, in a recent interview with Earth Day Network.
Fifty years ago today, the first Earth Day was marked in the United States as a peaceful call for environmental reform, following a massive oil spill off the coast of California. Half a century later, this annual day unites millions across the globe, drawing attention to the huge challenges facing our planet.
Now more than ever, Earth Day offers an opportunity for us all to reflect upon our relationship with the planet, amid the most powerful possible message that nature can surprise us at any moment, with devastating consequences for pretty much every individual. It is a time when the health of the planet and its people has never been so important.
This year held great promise for environmental change on the back of growing pressure for concerted, urgent action and with a suite of international conferences set to refocus global commitment on these key issues. The nexus between nature, climate and sustainable development was embodied in 2020. The year offered hope.
