World Environment Day theme: Planet needs you

The theme for today — World Environment Day 2009 — is “Your planet needs you! Unite to combat climate change.”

The theme represents a strong call for environmental action in advance of the United Nations climate change talks in Copenhagen this December.

“The new global climate agreement that is due to be finalised at the Copenhagen climate conference in December is the world’s last chance to prevent the dangerous, perhaps even catastrophic, levels of climate change that are projected by scientists to occur as early as 2050 — well within the lifetimes of over a billion young people alive today,” said EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas.

Established by the UN General Assembly in 1972, World Environment Day aims to build global awareness of environmental issues, empower people to become agents for positive change and engage partnerships to ensure a sustainable and equitable future.

This year’s World Environment Day observations will include the international debut of the film, “Home,” to be shown in outdoor venues, theatres and online in an opening billed as “the greatest green event ever.”

The Home project Website states, “HOME is an ode to the planet’s beauty and its delicate harmony. Through the landscapes of 54 countries captured from above, Yann Arthus-Bertrand takes us on an unique journey all around the planet, to contemplate it and to understand it. But HOME is more than a documentary with a message, it is a magnificent movie in its own right. Every breathtaking shot shows the Earth — our Earth — as we have never seen it before. Every image shows the Earth’s treasures we are destroying and all the wonders we can still preserve.

Mexico will be the official host for this year’s World Environment Day. It will be presenting a series of events for the day, including a conference on the green economy with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mexico’s Environment Secretary Juan Elvira Quesada, and Achim Steiner, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

There will also be photo exhibits, an art competition, a Maya “Healing the Earth” ceremony, and a Symphonic Visual Concert titled ‘The Shield of Nature’ by the Philharmonic Choir and World Heritage Orchestra.

Another highlight of this year’s World Environment Day is the launch of the Climate Heroes project. The UNEP initiative supports individuals who are undertaking exceptional personal feats, high-profile expeditions and other acts of environmental activism to demonstrate their commitment and to raise awareness for the simple idea that “Your Planet Needs You.”

The Climate Heroes include:

• Roz Savage, who is rowing across the Pacific Ocean to inspire people to take action on CO2 levels by walking more and driving less;
• Charles and Sho Scott of Ride Japan, a father-and-son team cycling through Japan to raise environmental awareness;
• David de Rothschild, who is building a boat out of recycled plastic to cross the Pacific and visit the Pacific Garbage Patch and raise awareness of the gigantic problem of waste and overconsumption;
• Chinese environmental photographer Luo Hong who is currently staging a major exhibit at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and whose Luo Hong Environment Foundation trains and rewards youth worldwide working in environmental protection; and
• Project Kaisei, a team of innovators who are studying how to capture waste in the ocean, detoxify it, and recycle it into diesel fuel.