Earth Day 2020 could mark the year we stop taking the planet for granted
The 50th annual call for environmental reform falls at a time when the health of people and nature has never been more urgent
Fifty years ago today, the first Earth Day was marked in the United States as a peaceful call for environmental reform, following a massive oil spill off the coast of California. Half a century later, this annual day unites millions across the globe, drawing attention to the huge challenges facing our planet.
Now more than ever, Earth Day offers an opportunity for us all to reflect upon our relationship with the planet, amid the most powerful possible message that nature can surprise us at any moment, with devastating consequences for pretty much every individual. It is a time when the health of the planet and its people has never been so important.
This year held great promise for environmental change on the back of growing pressure for concerted, urgent action and with a suite of international conferences set to refocus global commitment on these key issues. The nexus between nature, climate and sustainable development was embodied in 2020. The year offered hope.
There was much talk of nature as the bridge between the biodiversity and climate crises, of nature-based solutions such as forestation, peatland restoration and the protection of mangroves as the answers to some of the challenges we face today, and of natural capital supporting sustainable development and human wellbeing.
The postponement of COP15 and COP26 – the international conferences which were set to determine new global targets on biodiversity and climate change later this year – was, clearly, the right step to take when the world is grappling with a pandemic like coronavirus, but we should not let the momentum of what had been hailed as a “super year” for the environment be lost.
We are in an age of extinction and at the point where irreversible environmental damage could be wrought. Despite changed plans, we cannot afford to lose pace nor focus. The challenge of the biodiversity and climate crises will still be there when the Covid-19 restrictions are lifted; the ambition of COP15 and COP26 must be carried forward and built upon in 2021.
Right now, it may be hard not to feel despondent but there are shoots of optimism. After the lockdowns, we may may see greater appreciation for nature in many countries around the world. From China to Spain, people of all ages are missing what they did not know they would miss until they could not have it: craving open spaces; realising the wellbeing and health benefits of accessing nature; and, in many countries, missing the blossoming of spring.
The Guardian
COVER PHOTO
In this photograph taken on the first Earth Day on 22 April 1970, a Pace College student in a gas mask “smells” a magnolia blossom in City Hall Park in New York. Photograph: AP