On April 22, the Earth Day is celebrated, the largest environmental event in the world, a time when all citizens of the world come together to celebrate the Earth and to promote its preservation. The date recalls April 22nd , 1970, the day in which 20 million American citizens, responding to an appeal by the Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson, took to the street in defense of the environment.
Since its establishment, the Earth Day was aimed to raise citizens’ awareness on issues which are very critical for the survival of the planet, such as air, water and soil pollution; the destruction of ecosystems; the depletion of non-renewable energy sources; deforestation and a “reckless overbuilding”.
2015 marks the 45th anniversary of this celebration, and in this occasion, the focus is put on the issues of economic growth and sustainability, on the need for a new treaty on climate change and on the promotion of renewable energy sources in order to make our cities more sustainable.
As a matter of fact, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. Therefore, there is a need to rethink urban agglomerations in order to guarantee the right to live in a healthy, balanced and sustainable environment.
Over the years, international participation in the Earth Day has grown reaching far more than one billion people around the world: it is the symbol of the so-called “Green Generation”, which looks to a future free from fossil fuels, in favor of renewables sources of energy, the individual responsibility towards sustainable consumption, the development of a “Green Economy” and an educational system inspired to environmental issues.
On this occasion, various events are organized globally, including, for instance, the campaign titled A Billion Acts of Green. With over one billion actions to date, it is the largest environmental campaign in the world. A Billion Acts of Green inspires and rewards both individual acts both larger organizational initiatives that reduce carbon emissions and support sustainability. The Earth Day Network has launched the campaign in 2010, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, with the aim of registering one billion actions before the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 20) in June 2012. Now, its commitment is continuing with a new goal: reaching one more billion actions to protect the environment (laundry in cold water; using bikes to move; plant gardens and trees; volunteering to clean-up common areas; community meetings on environment; use of renewable energy in the workplace; and events for Earth Day). Another campaign launched by the Earth day network is Help your city go green which intends to urge the cities to implement initiatives to achieve the goal of depending 100% from renewable sources by 2050. Focused on three key elements – buildings, energy and transport – the campaign aims to help cities to accelerate the transition to a cleaner, healthier, more economically viable future, improving efficiency, making investments in renewable technologies, and through political reforms.
CESIE is strongly committed in actions aiming to promote environmental sustainability, the use of renewable energy resources and the adoption of new sustainable lifestyles and urban environments, through a number of initiatives in the field of sustainable development and environment, and particularly through some new projects it is involved in:
- STEP_BY_STEP – Step by step commitments for energy saving : the project, funded by the Horizon 2020 programme, aims to improve households’ knowledge about energy saving behaviours, motivating them to commit to energy-saving actions and promoting investment in renewable energy sources.
- SPAcE – Supporting Policy and Action for Active Environments : the project intends to share current good practices of the implementation and promotion of an Active Urban Environment to increase population physical activity level and the adoption of an healthy lifestyle by the population.
- PLACE – Planting Cities : the project aims to strengthen the role of youth work in the development of inclusive and healthy societies while promoting the innovative and creative use of urban gardens.
