Earth Day is an international event which began in the United States in 1970. It is celebrated each year by millions of people in over 190 countries around the world. It was first proposed by peace activist John McConnell to honour the Earth and the concept of peace. It was hoped that Earth Day would raise awareness of environmental issues which at the time did not have a very high profile.
Earth Day became an international event in 1990. The international promotion of activities such as conservation and recycling led to the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As time went on awareness was raised of other issues such as global warming and the development of renewable energy.
The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference was held in the French capital Paris. The conference which lasted from November 30th to December 12th 2015 reached agreement on the reduction of climate change. It is known as the Paris Agreement and was opened for signature on Earth Day 2016. The agreement became effective on November 4th 2016.
Today Earth Day is celebrated by people of all nationalities and is said to be the largest civic event in the world. In Ireland events such as Green Schools Competitions, Walking for Water and An Taisce National Spring Clean are held in the lead up to Earth Day.
Earth Day is celebrated around the globe every year On This Day.
Earth Day 2015
Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day