50th World Environment Day: History and theme for 2022 

This year's theme - ‘Only One Earth’ - highlights the "need to live sustainably in harmony with nature". (Representation image: Eirik Skarstein via unsplash)

Every year June 5 is marked by frenetic activity. From tree-planting drives to beach-cleaning activities and celebrities reminding us of our social responsibility – it seems the call to action for restoring the planet is loudest on this day. That’s because June 5 is marked by the United Nations as World Environment Day (WED), a day set aside since 1973 to promote worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. 

The history 

The idea of WED can be traced back to a warm June in Stockholm, Sweden, 50 years ago. That’s when the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment took place. Widely regarded as the first global environment summit, it was here that the idea of a World Environment Day was formalized, with the first one held in 1973. Since then, the annual event, which falls on June 5, has helped both celebrate the planet and put a spotlight on the perils it is facing.

The timing is crucial. WED came into being during a time of growing concern about humanity’s impact on the planet. A series of environmental disasters in the 1960s – from drought and mine collapses to pollution and mass fish poisoning – raised awareness of the fragility of the environment. The iconic ‘Earthrise’ photo, taken by the Apollo 8 mission – the first colour photo of Earth from space – further illustrated that fragility.

Earthrise (Image: NASA on The Commons)

Even though WED celebrations have been held annually since the 1970s, the idea for rotating the centre of these activities through selecting different host countries began in 1987. Since then, every WED is hosted by a different country, in which official celebrations take place in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). 

In 2018 India hosted the day – the theme was ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’. Over 6,000 people gathered at Versova Beach in Mumbai to join UN Environment Champion of the Earth, Afroz Shah, in a beach clean-up, where they collected over 90,000 kg of plastic. The Indian government made a bold commitment to ban all single-use plastic which makes up 70 percent of marine litter by 2022 and European Union lawmakers agreed on a ban by 2025. China, which now owns half the world’s electric vehicles and 99 percent of the world’s electric buses, hosted WED in 2019. Pakistan was the global host for the big day in 2021. 

Celebrity crusaders

Major corporations, non-governmental organizations, communities, governments and celebrities around the world have also adopted WED to champion environmental causes.

Among the most visible earth crusaders is Leonardo DiCaprio, who in 1998 incepted his eponymous foundation with the credo to protect the world’s threatened ecosystems. Since then, DiCaprio has made sizeable donations and calls to action in documentary films and public platforms.

Closer home Alia Bhatt who famously took the pledge to go plastic-free, supports mass drives to keep beaches garbage-free and has been using her status as a youth icon to address a wide range of environmental issues.

Dia Mirza has been vocal about the preservation of rivers, forests and wildlife habitats for years whereas Aamir Khan has been quietly leading a movement for a drought-free Maharashtra for years with 'Paani Foundation', his non-profit organization which is active in the area of drought prevention and watershed management.

Theme for 2022 

Each WED is organized around a theme that focuses attention on a particularly pressing environmental concern. Past WED themes are a snapshot of the environmental concerns of the time. In 1977, for instance, the event focused on the depletion of the ozone layer, and in 1983 on acid rain.

World Environment Day cast a spotlight on climate change in 1989. The theme for WED in 2018 was Beat Plastic Pollution. It not just sparked a global dialogue about the mounting toll of plastic pollution, it even led world leaders creating a legally binding international treaty to end plastic pollution. WED 2020, hosted by Colombia, focused on biodiversity.

The year 2022 marks the 50th WED. Sweden is the host this year and the theme is ‘Only One Earth,’ focusing on the need to live sustainably in harmony with nature. Only One Earth was the motto for the 1972 Stockholm Conference; 50 years on, the motto holds true - this planet is our only home, whose finite resources humanity must safeguard.

Like every year, there are hundreds of events and actions planned all around the world, from an electric vehicle rally in Cairo to a massive cyclathon in Mumbai to an e-waste drive in Bucharest.