Let's talk about World Environment Day, celebrated every year on June 5th.
What is it?
World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 and celebrated, for the first time, two years later with the slogan Only One Earth.
Since 1974, the first year in which World Environment Day was celebrated, the event has grown to become a global platform for public awareness of the environment in over 100 countries.
Environment Day 2022 will be hosted by Sweden and will focus on the need to live sustainably and in harmony with nature. Planet earth is in fact the only "home" for its inhabitants, and its resources must be safeguarded.
Sustainable development goals
A very important topic related to the well-being of the environment is undoubtedly the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
We hear more and more often about the Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs), both internationally and nationally.
But what are they and what do they have to do with European planning?
Their birth dates back to 2015 and is well explained on the official website dedicated to them. In short, these are common goals that the international community (all 193 UN member countries) has set itself to promote the sustainable development of the planet.
There are 17, divided into 169 specific "goals" to be achieved by 2030.
They belong to all countries and to all individuals in the world and have been endorsed by all those involved in "development" in the broad sense: development cooperation, but also the development of their communities, economic and social development and environmental sustainability.
Taken together, they cover all areas of intervention of politics, social action, philanthropy and (obviously) European projects:
- Defeat poverty
- Defeat hunger
- Health and wellness
- Quality education
- Gender equality
- Clean water and sanitation
- Clean and accessible energy
- Decent work and economic growth
- Industry, innovation and infrastructures
- Reduce inequalities
- Sustainable cities and communities
- Responsible consumption and production
- Climate action
- Life below water
- Life on land
- Peace, justice and strong institutions
- Partnership for the goals
What can we do every day?
World Environment Day is an excellent opportunity to reflect on the small daily actions we can take to protect the environment, its inhabitants and its rich wildlife, virtuous behaviours that can guarantee a home for a long time to come.
We can start by cutting the use of plastic, avoiding all that is disposable, closing the water, consuming responsibly, preferring public transport and bicycles to cars and scooters.
What if we all made a gesture for the Earth every day?
We are 7.6 billion, and if each of these people took even one small action to improve our planet and the life on it, we would have reached an important milestone.
“It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world." — Chaos Theory
