Shaheer Ahmed
The United Nations General Assembly chose June 5 as World Environment Day (WED) in 1972. In 1973, the first event was held with the theme “Only One Earth.” In the years that followed, WED became a place to talk about environmental issues like air pollution, plastic pollution, illegal wildlife trade, sustainable consumption, rising sea levels, and food security. The theme for World Environment Day 2023 is the campaign having the logo #BeatPlasticPollution.
Also, WED helps make changes in how people use things and in national and foreign policies about the environment.
“The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.”
– Lady Bird Johnson
This year is the 50th anniversary of World Environment Day, which will focus on how to stop plastic waste using the hashtag and motto #BeatPlasticPollution.
Every year, the world makes more than 430 million tonnes of plastic, and about half of that is made to be used only once. Less than 10% of that is reused or recovered. Every year, between 19 and 23 million tonnes are thought to end up in lakes, rivers, and seas. Microplastics, which are tiny pieces of plastic up to 5 mm in size, end up in food, drink, and the air.
It is thought that every person in the world eats more than 50,000 pieces of plastic every year, and that number is much higher if breathing is considered. Single-use plastic that is thrown away or burned is bad for people’s health and for wildlife. It also pollutes every environment, from the tops of mountains to the ocean bottom.
With science and possible answers to the problem at hand, governments, businesses, and other stakeholders must scale up and speed up their efforts to solve this issue. This shows how important it is for this World Environment Day to get people all over the world to take action that will make a difference.
World Environment Day 2023 must bring out all the changes that are necessary for our planet Earth. We must put in our hands together in protecting our Earth.
