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Latest updates as the UN chief warns the world is facing a “deeper emergency” than the coronavirus
Earth Day is already 50 years old, and it is estimated that millions participate in the annual day of environmental action to face the enormous challenges facing our planet.
This year’s plans for the events have been reversed by the coronavirus crisis, but the movement has planned 72 hours of digital action to celebrate the theme of climate action. It comes after the pandemic forced the UN to postpone the COP26 international climate conference to get countries back on track and avoid climate collapse.
Meanwhile, blockades introduced around the world have seen the skies cleared of pollution and wildlife returning to deserted streets, while U.S. oil prices fell below zero for the first time in history.
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The University of Oxford passed a motion demanding that its endowment fund be detached from all direct investments in fossil fuel companies, and that future investment in funds holding primarily shares of fossil fuel companies be terminated.
The announcement came one day before Earth Day.
The Green Party has said that a “Green New Deal” should be central to any post-coronavirus recovery package in the UK.
The side wants to see investments to make all homes warmer and more energy efficient, a rapid deployment of renewable energy, and large investments in public transportation, which it says would create hundreds of thousands of low-carbon jobs.
A decade later, a group of scientists, conservationists and locals spoke to The Independent about the devastating number of Deepwater Horizon oil spills and the impacts that are still being felt today.
Everyone fears this may happen again, writes our climate correspondent Louise Boyle.
Greta Thunberg: coping with the climate crisis and the coronavirus together
Greta Thunberg said that the action to combat the coronavirus does not mean that the climate crisis has disappeared, since she participated in a live conversation with climatologist Johan Rockström.
“Today is Earth Day and that reminds us that the climate and the environmental emergency are still ongoing and that we need to face both the crown pandemic … at the same time that we address the climate and environmental emergency, because we need to face two crises at once, “said the 17-year-old climate activist.
Pope Francis made a passionate plea to protect the environment on Earth Day, saying that the coronavirus pandemic had shown that some challenges had to be met with a global response.
Francis praised the environmental movement and said that it was necessary for young people “to go out into the streets to teach us what is obvious, that is, that there will be no future for us if we destroy the environment that sustains us.”
He added that the Earth was not an endless reservoir of resources to exploit, saying: “We have sinned against the Earth, against our neighbor and, in the end, against the creator.”
In parts of China and Southeast Asian regions, live animal markets and wildlife trade continue despite growing international calls for tighter restrictions on “wet” markets and the use of wildlife in traditional medicine .
The new coronavirus outbreak is believed to have originated from a wildlife market in Wuhan, China and spread to humans due to its proximity to wildlife.
Read our climate correspondent Louise Boyle’s report here:
To commemorate Earth Day, Surfers Against Sewage is launching a campaign, #ReturnToOffender, urging the public to document plastic pollution on their daily walks during shutdown.
The campaign asks people to upload these photos to social media to challenge companies to tackle the plastic problem.
How coronavirus blockades changed the most polluted cities in the world
While the coronavirus pandemic has forced the UN to postpone the COP26 international climate conference, it has also created a global experiment to reduce pollution in some of the world’s busiest cities.
From New Delhi to Milan, the air has become cleaner, albeit temporarily, as people stay home.
Conrad Duncan reports on this unintended consequence of blockades worldwide
Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson has begun releasing a series of orange and pink Earth images to encourage people to get a new world view.
People should look at the dot in the center of each image for 10 seconds and then focus on a blank surface where a secondary image will appear. The artist will release a series of these images, every hour from 10 a.m. on Instagram, and hopes to encourage mass participation around the world.
Eleven of the 12 hottest years to date have occurred since 2000, according to a new report from the European Union’s climate monitoring service.
Last year was the hottest year on record for Europe after scorching heat waves led to record temperatures in February, June and July, scientists from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (CS3) said in the annual European State report of the Weather.
Read more about the report released on Earth Day here:
Dalai Lama: “We can no longer exploit the resources of this land”
The UN secretary-general urged nations to resolve the climate crisis in unison once they emerge from the damage caused by the coronavirus.
Antonio Guterres said that although the impact of the virus in global society had been “immediate and terrible”, there was “another even deeper emergency: the environmental crisis that is unfolding on the planet.”
Read Vincent Wood’s report here:
The first Earth Day came after Senator Gaylord Nelson witnessed the impact of an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, in 1969, and wanted to harness the energy of the youth-led and anti-Vietnam War movement. in environmental actions.
Building on the teachings of students in the 1970s, the movement now involves up to a billion people worldwide who demand environmental measures.
The independent Climate correspondent Louise Boyle takes a look at Earth Day for more than half a century:
According to UN experts, the world must “show the same determination and unity” against the accelerated problem of climate change as against the coronavirus.
A report from the World Meteorological Organization released to mark the 50th anniversary of the annual Earth Day event confirms that the past five years have been the hottest on record worldwide.
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said: “While Covid-19 has caused a serious international health and economic crisis, failure to tackle climate change can threaten human well-being, ecosystems and economies for centuries.
“We need to flatten out the pandemic and climate change curves.”
Earth Day has already turned 50, and according to the Earth Day Network (EDN), it is believed that more than a billion people in 192 countries participated in the event last year.
The celebration marks the anniversary of the birth of the environmental movement in 1970.
Modern environmentalism is largely attributed to the beginning with the publication of Rachel Carson’s best-selling book Silent Spring, documenting the effects of indiscriminate use of pesticides, in 1962.
This year’s plans for massive in-person events have been reversed by the coronavirus pandemic, but the movement has shifted toward 72 hours of digital action.
Jane Fonda, Joaquin Phoenix, and Al Gore are among the stars talking about the ongoing climate crisis, along with top scientists and journalists.
The theme for this year is climate action, with 2020 seen as a turning point for action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving the UN goal of keeping global warming below 2C.
Good morning and welcome to The independent continuous coverage of Earth Day 2020
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