Today marks the 50th year of the founding of World Environment Day (WED). An international meeting called Stockholm+50 is being organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to commemorate WED.
The theme for the event this year is "Only One Earth" -- the same one used when world leaders first convened in Stockholm in 1972.
As a prelude to Cop27 in November, the goal of this year's event is to remind "everyone, everywhere, to live sustainably" and mitigate the threat of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
Recently, UNEP shared a chilling warning to remind us why we must pay attention. With the global population set to cross 8 billion within the next year, we will need at least 1.6 Earths to maintain our current lifestyle.
The message is loud and clear. The longer we continue with our unsustainable lifestyles, the more irreversible damage we do, staring at a future of food insecurity, rises in sea level, threats to water security, drought, desertification, extreme temperatures and storms and more.
This year, at least WED 4,023 events are being held around the world, from an electric vehicle rally in Cairo, a cyclathon in Mumbai to an e-waste drive in Bucharest.
But long-term sustainability remains evasive. Although previous WEDs have helped raise awareness, including the one in 2020 when UNEP social channels managed to garner 100 million views, no substantive action has materialised. Fourteen world leaders issued a joint statement calling for the protection of 30% of the world's land and ocean by 2030, yet the details on achieving that goal are falling short.
Fortunately, the 2018 meeting had some positive impact as it helped spark a global dialogue on plastic pollution. This year, UN member states are finally agreeing to sign an international agreement to address production, design and disposal issues by 2024.
A draft version is currently in the works, and the final agreement should come into effect.
Despite the increase in extreme weather every year, governments and corporations are still largely unable to unite and take immediate action. Year after year, pledges and commitments are made but not fully honoured.
For example, 196 countries agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when they signed the 2015 Paris Agreement, with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C. However, seven years later, the world is on course to become 2.7C warmer due to current policies in place.
Half a year after Cop26, in which 200 countries promised to improve policies to tackle climate-related issues, US Climate envoy John Kerry said recently: "I don't see the evidence that that is happening, and I also don't see the evidence that they are reducing [emissions] significantly."
If a single country on its own cannot figure out how to implement climate-friendly policies, it is clear why the world is largely failing the environment. The few nations that have seen success have policies that cannot be replicated elsewhere.
Another issue is environmental protection requires unity. The world today is more divisive than in the recent past. Covid-19 has spurred new conflicts and economic crises. If cooperation was already a problem before, the situation would be even tougher today.
The Russia-Ukraine war has affected the global energy market, driving fuel prices up, forcing some governments return to fossil fuels.
In Thailand, the Mae Moh power plant in Lampang province now needs more coal to operate despite the country's master plan in reducing dependency on fossil fuels.
Despite the changing world, UNEP has complied its "Only One Earth Practical Guide" to help governments, cities, businesses, community groups and individuals take steps to mitigate the effects of global warming.
People can follow it to learn how to conserve energy at home by using efficient heating and cooling systems, growing their own food and cutting down on fast fashion products.
As yet another WED approaches, the message is clear: We must act now, and world leaders must step up efforts. In the words of Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley during Cop26: the "Leaders of today, not 2030, not 2050, must make this choice."
The planet doesn't have the time for discussions that slip into the void.
