Today is World Environment Day

Shining BD Desk || Shining BD

Published: 6/5/2023 4:35:27 AM

Today, the country, along with the rest of the world, will observe World Environment Day, encouraging people to take collective and transformative action on a global scale to protect and restore the planet and its environment.  

Every year on June 5, World Environment Day has a host country and a theme. This year's host is Côte d'Ivoire, in partnership with the Netherlands. The day's theme is "solutions to plastic pollution" as part of the #BeatPlasticPollution campaign.

The United Nations General Assembly designated June 5 as World Environment Day to mark the beginning of the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Additionally, the United Nations Environment Programme was established as a result of another resolution adopted by the General Assembly on the same day, June 5, 1972.

The first observance occurred in 1973. Since then, the annual event has served as a reminder to bring people's attention back to Mother Earth. It is the 50th anniversary of World Environment Day this year.

It is anticipated that more than 150 countries will participate in this year's World Environment Day.

Each year, the world produces more than 430 million tonnes of plastic, of which two-thirds are disposable products that quickly become waste. The annual social and economic costs of plastic pollution range from $300 billion to $600 billion.

According to a recent report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Turning off the Tap, redesigning how we produce, use, recover, and dispose of plastics and products could save $4.5 trillion by 2040.

"We must refuse single-use items that are unnecessary. Redesigning products and packaging to use less plastic is necessary. We must reuse, recycle, reorient and diversify our systems. This is how we prevent plastic from entering the economy and ecosystems. In a video message, Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), stated that everyone must contribute.

Shining BD