Commonwealth Local Government Forum

World Earth Day 2020

22 April 2020

Welcome to Earth Day 2020! 

 

This is a day on which we come together to celebrate the planet and fill the world with messages of hope, optimism and, above all — action.  

 

It is being marked with a series of events led by the Earth Day organisation. All information, including sign-up details and social media aspects, can be found on their website. The world’s largest civic event is going digital for the first time in its history to 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.

 

Global environmental movement

Firmly attuned to the work of local government everywhere, Earth Day's mission is to build the world’s largest environmental movement to drive transformative change for people and planet: to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Growing out of the first Earth Day in 1970, Earth Day Network is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 75,000 partners in over 190 countries to drive positive action for the planet. 

 

Local government climate action 

Local government throughout the Commonwealth has, for decades, been embracing measures to protect our planet, espcially through work on the Sustainable Development Goals and, in particularly SDG13. From recycling measures, environmental protection, procurement and product safety to ensurng that, as far as possible, sustainability runs throughout a practices. These actions have received unprecented support by citizens who have shown their support through world wide climate actio protests. 

 

COP-26 postponed

Due to COVID-19, the COP26 UN climate change conference, set to take place in Glasgow in November, has been postponed until 2021. But efforts will continue to ensure that the voice of local government is represented at these important discussions.

 

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa, speaking of the unprecedented and urgent global threat posed by the pandemic said: "We cannot forget that climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity over the long term. Soon, economies will restart. This is a chance for nations to recover better, to include the most vulnerable in those plans, and a chance to shape the 21st century economy in ways that are clean, green, healthy, just, safe and more resilient."

 

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