Article Written By: Minseo Cha
World Environment Day (WED) is commemorated on the 5th of June every year and is the United Nation's principal means of promoting awareness and action for the protection of the environment. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on environmental matters such as marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, and wildlife crime. WED has grown to become a global platform, with participation from over 143 countries annually. Each year, a unique theme is adopted by NGOs, communities, governments, and celebrities worldwide to advocate environmental concerns.
The main concept of WED for last year was: “Beat Plastic Pollution”. The theme was chosen to challenge individuals to change their daily lives by decreasing the burden of plastic pollution. People were highly encouraged to be free from over-relying on single-use or disposables.
The U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the public to refuse single-use plastic items and warned that the gradually growing levels of plastic waste were becoming uncontrollable. He confidently stated, “Every year, more than eight million tons end up in the oceans.”
The host nation, where the official celebrations take place, was India. “India is excited to host the World Environment Day this year on June 5. Indian philosophy and lifestyle have long been rooted in the concept of co-existence with nature. We are committed to making Planet Earth a cleaner and greener place”, said Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. India has been emerging as a leader in this area, as it has one of the highest recycling rates in the world. Hosting WED 2018 accelerated the Indian government’s leadership on the subject. As a host country, the Indian government pledged to eliminate all single use of plastic in India by 2022. This pledge spread an influential message to ‘liberate our natural world and our health from plastics’ to the countries all over the globe. Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “If each and every one of us does at least one green good deed daily towards our Green Social Responsibility, there will be billions of green good deeds daily on the planet.”
These are some of the plastic pollution facts pointed out in relation to WED 2018:
- Every year, the world uses up to 5 trillion plastic bags.
- Each year, at least 13 million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans, the equivalent of a full garbage truck every minute.
- In the last decade, we produced more plastic than in the whole last century.
- 50 percent of the plastic we use is single-use or disposable.
- We buy 1 million plastic bottles every minute.
- Plastic makes up 10% of all of the waste we generate.
On June 5th, 2018, thousands of activities took place around the world to celebrate World Environment Day. The WED Expo took place on Jun 5-7th in New Delhi, featuring the latest technology and solutions for sustainable development. 12 cities in the Asia-Pacific region including Auckland, Bali, Bangkok, Beijing, Seoul, Hong Kong, exhibited installations made from recycled plastics, with the intention to increase awareness about plastic usage. On June 5th, hundreds of cities hosted beach clean-up events, as most of the plastic we use end up in rivers and oceans. Besides, people were strongly encouraged to “Say No to Plastic” or design their own WED events.
World Environment Day continues to emphasize the significance of the environment, and the theme for 2019 is “Air Pollution”. The host nation is China this time. "On World Environment Day, the message is simple: reject single-use plastic. Refuse what you can’t re-use. Together, we can chart a path to a cleaner, greener world." said the Secretary-General, António Guterres.
Bibliography (MLA 8 FORMAT):
Website Citations:
Website 1:
Taylor, Alan. “World Environment Day 2018: 'Beat Plastic Pollution'.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 5 June 2018, www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/06/the-theme-for-world-environment-day-2018-is-beat-plastic-pollution/562082/.
Website 2:
United Nations. “India to Host World Environment Day 2018.” UN Environment, 19 Feb. 2018, www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/india-host-world-environment-day-2018.
Photo Citations:
Photo 1:
Pruthi, Rupali. “Jagran Josh.” Jagranjosh.com, 5 June 2018, www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/world-environment-day-2018-india-hosts-the-day-on-beat-plastic-pollution-theme-1528181183-1.
Photo 2:
MedWet. “World Environment Day 2018: Beat Plastic Pollution.” MedWet, 5 June 2018, medwet.org/2018/06/world-environment-day-2018-beat-plastic-pollution/.
Photo 3:
Stocker, Joaane. “UN Secretary-General Guterres Vows to Pursue Support for G5 Sahel Anti-Terror Force.” The Defense Post, 30 May 2018, thedefensepost.com/2018/05/30/un-guterres-support-g5-sahel-anti-terror-force/.