World Environment Day, celebrated annually on 5 June, is the biggest international day for the environment and has grown as the largest global platform for environmental outreach. It is primarily led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and now supported by millions of people across the world since 1973.
Year 1st: Only One Earth
In 1972, the UN General Assembly designated 5 June as World Environment Day (WED). The first WED was celebrated in 1974 in the city of Spokane in the USA, under the slogan ‘Only One Earth.’ In the following years, WED has developed as a platform to raise awareness on the problems facing our environment such as air pollution, plastic pollution, illegal wildlife trade, sustainable consumption, sea-level increase, and food security, among others. Furthermore, WED helps drive change in consumption patterns and in national and international environmental policy.
2023 Theme: Solutions to Plastic Pollution
This year marks the 50th anniversary of World Environment Day, which will focus on solutions to plastic pollution. This year the event is hosted by Côte d’Ivoire and it is as a reminder that people’s actions on plastic pollution matters.
History of World Environment Day
2022 | Only One Earth
Hosted in Stockholm, Sweden
2021 | Ecosystem Restoration
Hosted in Pakistan
2020 | Time for Nature
Hosted in Colombia
2019 | Beat Air Pollution
Hosted in People’s Republic of China
2018 | Beat Plastic Pollution
Hosted in New Delhi, India
2017 | Connecting Nature to People
Hosted in Ottawa, Canada
2016 | Go Wild for Life
Hosted in Luanda, Angola
2015 | Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.
Hosted in Rome, Italy
2014 | International Year of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS)
Hosted in Bridgetown, Barbados
2013 | Think. Eat. Save.
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
2012 | The Green Economy
Hosted in Brasilia, Brazil
2011 | Forests: Nature at Your Service.
Hosted in Delhi, India
2010 | Many Species. One Planet. One Future.
Hosted in Rangpur, Bangladesh
2009 | Your Planet Needs You – Unite to Combat Climate Change
Hosted in Mexico City, Mexico
2008 | Kick The Habit – Towards A Low Carbon Economy
Hosted in Wellington, New Zealand
2007 | Melting Ice – A Hot Topic?
Hosted in London, England
2006 | Deserts and Desertification – Don’t Desert Drylands!
Hosted in Algiers, Algeria
2005 | Green Cities – Plant for the Planet!
Hosted in San Francisco, United States
2004 | Wanted! Seas and Oceans – Dead or Alive?
Hosted in Barcelona, Spain
2003 | Water – Two Billion People are Dying for It!
Hosted in Beirut, Lebanon
2002 | Give Earth a Chance
Hosted in Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China
2001 | Connect with the World Wide Web of Life
Hosted in Torino, Italy and Havana, Cuba
2000 | The Environment Millennium – Time to Act
Hosted in Adelaide, Australia
1999 | Our Earth – Our Future – Just Save It!
Hosted in Tokyo, Japan
1998 | For Life on Earth – Save Our Seas
Hosted in Moscow, Russian Federation
1997 | For Life on Earth
Hosted in Seoul, Republic of Korea
1996 | Our Earth, Our Habitat, Our Home
Hosted in Istanbul, Turkey
1995 | We the Peoples: United for the Global Environment
Hosted in Pretoria, South Africa
1994 | One Earth One Family
London, United Kingdom
1993 | Poverty and the Environment – Breaking the Vicious Circle
Hosted in Beijing, People’s Republic of China
1992 | Only One Earth, Care and Share
Hosted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1991 | Climate Change. Need for Global Partnership
Hosted in Stockholm, Sweden
1990 | Children and the Environment
Hosted in Mexico City, Mexico
1989 | Global Warming; Global Warning
Hosted in Brussels, Belgium
1988 | When People Put the Environment First, Development Will Last
Hosted in Bangkok, Thailand
1987 | Environment and Shelter: More Than A Roof
Hosted in Nairobi, Kenya
1986 | A Tree for Peace
Hosted in Ontario, Canada
1985 | Youth: Population and the Environment
Hosted in Islamabad, Pakistan
1984 | Desertification
Hosted in Rajshahi, Bangladesh
1983 | Managing and Disposing Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and Energy
Hosted in Sylhet, Bangladesh
1982 | Ten Years After Stockholm (Renewal of Environmental Concerns)
Hosted in Dhaka, Bangladesh
1981 | Ground Water; Toxic Chemicals in Human Food Chains
Hosted in Sylhet, Bangladesh
1980 | A New Challenge for the New Decade: Development Without Destruction
Hosted in Sylhet, Bangladesh
1979 | Only One Future for Our Children – Development Without Destruction
Hosted in Sylhet, Bangladesh
1978 | Development Without Destruction
Hosted in Sylhet, Bangladesh
1977 | Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil Degradation
Hosted in Sylhet, Bangladesh
1976 | Water: Vital Resource for Life
Hosted in Ontario, Canada
1975 | Human Settlements
Hosted in Dhaka, Bangladesh
1974 | Only One Earth
Hosted in Spokane, United States
Fifty years celebrating World Environment Day
Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Environment Day is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people across the world.
How UNITED BLUERISE Can Help
We, at UNITED BLUERISE, aim to promote rewarding sustainable solutions where the health benefits of a “pure-living” truly meet in parallel with environment challenges of a “plastic-free” world.
Article: QL-7132
Source: https://www.un.org, https://www.worldenvironmentday.global
