World Environment Day 2023 – Two Sides

History

World Environment Day puts a global spotlight on the pressing environmental challenges of our times. This UN international day has become the largest global platform for environmental outreach, with millions of people from across the world engaging to protect the planet.

2022 – LIVING IN HARMONY SUSTAINABLY WITH NATURE #ONLYONEEARTH

World Environment Day paid homage to the 50th anniversary of what is considered the world’s first environmental summit, the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. Like that gathering, it adopted the slogan “Only One Earth”, casting a spotlight on the pressing need to protect and restore humanity’s lone home.

At the 2022 official event, host country Sweden pledged to stop issuing licenses for new coal, oil and natural gas extraction. More than 65 million people celebrated World Environment Day online.

2021 – ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION #GENERATIONRESTORATION

The focus was Ecosystem Restoration celebrated under the theme “Reimagine. Recreate. Restore”. Hosted by Pakistan, it cast a spotlight on how humanity has been exploiting the planet’s ecosystems and called for a concerted global effort to repair the damage that has been done. Every three seconds, the world loses enough forest to cover a football pitch and, over the last century, half of all wetlands have been destroyed.

2020 – BIODIVERSITY #TIMEFORNATURE

In 2020, the World Environment Day theme focused on biodiversity – a concern both urgent and existential. The day was hosted by Colombia. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis – caused by the rapid destruction of habitats – President Iván Duque Márquez said “the time to act is now if we want to assure our present and our future.” Fourteen world leaders – including those from Colombia, Costa Rica, Finland, France and Seychelles – released a statement calling on governments worldwide to support a new global goal to protect at least 30 per cent of the planet’s land and ocean by 2030.

To read more about past themes of World Environment Day, click here.