Call to action at Stockholm +50 as countries mark World Environment Day
Women water seedlings at a nursery.
Today, people all over the world come together to make amends after mother nature’s several threats to spit human beings out. World Environment Day has been a reminder to people to take care of the environment in ways ranging from planting trees to waste management.
Fifty years ago on this day, the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) held its first meeting in Stockholm, Sweden.
“Olof Palme. Indira Gandhi. Maurice Strong. They told us of the links between development, poverty, human well-being and care of the planet. They warned us that we were in trouble. And they told us what we should do to ensure a healthy planet, healthy people and healthy economies. Jomo Kenyatta followed up by offering Kenya as host nation to the Unep,” said Unep Executive Director Inger Andersen at the opening of the Stockholm+50 international meeting.
World leaders convened in Stockholm this past week where they reaffirmed their commitment to fighting the Triple Planetary Crisis namely climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation.
Kenya co-hosted the Stockholm +50 environment meeting with Sweden as Unep celebrates 50 years of service.
President Uhuru Kenyatta co-chaired the two-day meeting with the host, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.
President Kenyatta noted that despite increasing environmental threats over the past 50 years, little progress had been made in designing and implementing plans and appropriate actions.
“This meeting seeks to, therefore, accelerate action to avert an environmental crisis and define a pathway towards an environmentally sustainable future,” said President Kenyatta.
He also pointed out that developing countries bear the brunt of climate change, citing the example of Kenya, which has experienced drought for four consecutive years.
The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) launched the CIF Nature, People and Climate (NPC) investment platform to pilot and scale nature-based solutions in developing countries.
The programme, which was announced at the Stockholm +50 summit, will promote and protect natural environments by investing in sustainable agriculture and food supply, healthy forests, and resilient coastal systems. The NPC will also mobilise finance to empower indigenous peoples and local communities to lead climate action.
“We know, more than ever, the terrible consequences of marching blithely further down the carbon-intensive development path we have gouged from the earth. But we also know what we should do. And we know how to do it.
“Science has delivered the solutions we need for fair and just transformational changes in our economy, our finance systems, our lifestyles, our governance. And we now need science to swing the needle to action on our moral compass.” said Andersen.
The theme this year, #OnlyOneEarth, calls for collective, transformative action on a global scale to celebrate, protect and restore the planet.
There are three categories in which organisations and individuals can participate; nature action, climate action and chemicals and pollutants action.
Since the launch of the campaign, more than 100 actions have been registered in Kenya, most which include tree planting exercises and garbage collection. Creatives also plan to use their talents to create awareness.
Nation Media Group, in partnership with the Green Blue Africa Foundation (GBFA) and the Ministry of Environment, will be participating in tree planting and other conservation activities.
