Earth Day 2021 addresses the urgent need to Restore Our Earth™

One of the most pressing issues of the 21st century is climate change, and with news that carbon dioxide levels have reached a staggering 421 parts per million, the highest concentration in 3.6 million years, Earth Day 2021 and its Three Days of Climate Action takes on a renewed urgency.

In this blog, we offer an overview of Earth Day 2021 and its events including the Global Youth Climate Summit (20 April), Teach for the Planet: Global Education Summit (21 April), and Earth Day Live (22 April), workshops, panels and performances that focus on the Day’s theme that runs parallel to US President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate. We also give a brief summary of the Reimagining Climate Adaptation Summit 2021, (19-22 April 2021 via Zoom), presented by the University of Sydney and the University of Western Sydney.

Earth Day

Earth day has been observed on 22 April annually since 1970. Today, more than one billion people in 192 countries participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.

This year, the Earth Day theme is Restore Our Earth™, a timely appeal considering “what we’ve already done to the atmosphere,” according to Professor Mark Howden, director of the Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions at the Australian National University, “is proportional to the change that’s associated with an ice age. And an ice age, fundamentally changes the face of the earth.”

Earth Day 2021: three days of climate action 

DAY 1: Tuesday 20 April 2021

The three days of climate action will begin with the global youth climate summit led by Earth Uprising, and in collaboration with My Future My Voice, OneMillionOfUs and hundreds of youth activists. Consisting of panels, speeches, discussions and messages from young activists including Greta Thunberg, Alexandria Villaseñor, and Licypriya Kangujam. The four-hour digital summit will investigate several issues of concern including:

• the creation of green jobs
• climate literacy
• civic skill training
• environmental justice
• biodiversity protection
• sustainable agriculture.

In the lead up to the event, the youth organisers will compose a short list of demands they would like addressed at the Biden Administration’s climate summit (* see Leaders Summit on Climate below).

In the evening, the We Shall Breathe virtual summit will explore climate and environmental justice, connecting the climate crisis to issues of pollution, poverty, police brutality, and the pandemic, all within a racial justice framework.

DAY 2: Wednesday 21 April 2021

Education International will lead the Teach for the Planet: Global Education Summit, a multi-lingual, virtual gathering spanning several time zones and will feature prominent activists from around the world discussing the crucial role educators play in combating climate change.

DAY 3: Thursday 22 April 2021

The Earth Day Live digital event will begin at 12pm Eastern Time (2am, 23 April, AEST; 12am, 23 April, AWST), and will include workshops, panel discussions, and special performances that will focus on the Restore Our Earth™ theme, such as:

• emerging green technologies
• climate and environmental literacy
• reforestation efforts
• regenerative agriculture
• equity and environmental justice
• citizen science
• cleanups, and more. 

Leaders Summit on Climate

In late March 2021, President Biden invited 40 world leaders, including Australia’s PM, Scott Morrison to the Leaders Summit on Climate, which will be streamed live for public viewing on April 22 and 23.

Immediately returning the United States to the Paris Agreement on his first day in office, President Biden announced days later that he would convene a leaders summit to rally some of the world’s largest economies to address the climate crisis. Seen as a key precursor to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) to be held in Glasgow later this year where the parties to the Paris Agreement will also meet, the Leaders Summit on Climate will address key themes including:

• Galvanising efforts by the world’s major economies to reduce emissions during this critical decade to keep a limit to warming of 1.5 degree Celsius within reach.
• Mobilising public and private sector finance to drive the net-zero transition and to help vulnerable countries cope with climate impacts. 
• The economic benefits of climate action, with a strong emphasis on job creation, and the importance of ensuring all communities and workers benefit from the transition to a new clean energy economy.
• Spurring transformational technologies that can help reduce emissions and adapt to climate change, while also creating enormous new economic opportunities and building the industries of the future.
• Showcasing subnational and non-state actors that are committed to green recovery and an equitable vision for limiting warming to 1.5 degree Celsius, and are working closely with national governments to advance ambition and resilience.
• Discussing opportunities to strengthen capacity to protect lives and livelihoods from the impacts of climate change, address the global security challenges posed by climate change and the impact on readiness, and address the role of nature-based solutions in achieving net zero by 2050 goals. 

Reimagining Climate Adaptation Summit

Reimagining Climate Adoption Summit 2021: Future Earth Australia, the Sydney Environment Institute (University of Sydney) and the Institute for Culture and Society (Western Sydney University), present the Reimagining Climate Adaptation Summit from 19-22 April 2021 via Zoom. Each day features a range of presentations from academia, industry, government and commerce. Keynote speakers include: Bruce Pascoe, Dr Marcelo Mena Carrasco, The Hon. Lily D'Ambrosio MP, and Dr Gayle Schueller. 

For more information about the Reimagining Climate Adaptation Summit, please see the full program here. To register, click here.

Next week, part two: On Earth Day 2021, we look at the crucial Five Pillars to Restore Our Earth™, Sustainability Victoria’s TAKE2 climate change pledge initiative, and Climate Action, Goal 13 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

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A participant in the UN Global Compact, CourtHeath seeks to raise awareness about the Sustainable Development Goals and the principles of the Global Compact with business and government organisations in Victoria.

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IMAGE: Used under licence from shutterstock.com

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Written by Wendy Cavenett

[category courtheath's blog]

[EarthDay2021, climatechange, climateaction]