# World Environment Day

World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated annually on 5 June and encourages awareness and action for the protection of the environment. It is supported by many non-governmental organizations, businesses, government entities, and represents the primary United Nations outreach day supporting the environment.
First held in 1974, it has been a platform for raising awareness on environmental issues as marine pollution, overpopulation, global warming, sustainable development and wildlife crime. World Environment Day is a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually, incl. participation from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand and the United States. Every year, the program has provided a theme and forum for businesses, non government organizations, communities, politicians and stars to advocate environmental causes.

## History

World Environment Day was established in 1972 by the United Nations at the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment (5–16 June 1972), that had resulted from discussions on the integration of human interactions and the environment. One year later, in 1973, the first WED was held with the theme "Only One Earth".

## Host cities

World Environment Day celebrations have been (and will be) hosted in the following cities:
| Year | Theme | Host city |
| 1972 | Stockholm Conference on Human Environment | Stockholm, United Nations |
| 1973 | | Geneva, Switzerland |
| 1974 | Only one Earth during Expo '74 | Spokane, United States |
| 1975 | Human Settlements | Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| 1976 | Water: Vital Resource for Life | Ontario, Canada |
| 1977 | Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil Degradation | Sylhet, Bangladesh |
| 1978 | Development Without Destruction | Sylhet, Bangladesh |
| 1979 | Only One Future for Our Children – Development Without Destruction | Sylhet, Bangladesh |
| 1980 | A New Challenge for the New Decade: Development Without Destruction | Sylhet, Bangladesh |
| 1981 | Ground Water; Toxic Chemicals in Human Food Chains | Sylhet, Bangladesh |
| 1982 | Ten Years After Stockholm (Renewal of Environmental Concerns) | Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| 1983 | Managing and Disposing Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and Energy | Sylhet, Bangladesh |
| 1984 | Desertification | Rajshahi, Bangladesh |
| 1985 | Youth: Population and the Environment | Islamabad, Pakistan |
| 1986 | A Tree for Peace | Ontario, Canada |
| 1987 | Environment and Shelter: More Than A Roof | Nairobi, Kenya |
| 1988 | When People Put the Environment First, Development Will Last | Bangkok, Thailand |
| 1989 | Global Warming; Global Warning | Brussels, Belgium |
| 1990 | Children and the Environment | Mexico City, Mexico |
| 1991 | Climate Change. Need for Global Partnership | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 1992 | Only One Earth, Care and Share | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| 1993 | Poverty and the Environment – Breaking the Vicious Circle | Beijing, China |
| 1994 | One Earth One Family | London, United Kingdom |
| 1995 | We the Peoples: United for the Global Environment | Pretoria, South Africa |
| 1996 | Our Earth, Our Habitat, Our Home | Istanbul, Turkey |
| 1997 | For Life on Earth | Seoul, South Korea |
| 1998 | For Life on Earth – Save Our Seas | Moscow, Russia |
| 1999 | Our Earth – Our Future – Just Save It! | Tokyo, Japan |
| 2000 | The Environment Millennium – Time to Act | Adelaide, Australia |
| 2001 | Connect with the World Wide Web of Life | Turin, Italy and Havana, Cuba |
| 2002 | Give Earth a Chance | Shenzhen, China |
| 2003 | Water – Two Billion People are Dying for It! | Beirut, Lebanon |
| 2004 | Wanted! Seas and Oceans – Dead or Alive? | Barcelona, Spain |
| 2005 | Green Cities – Plant for the Planet! | San Francisco, United States |
| 2006 | Deserts and Desertification – Don't Desert Drylands! | Algiers, Algeria |
| 2007 | Melting Ice – a Hot Topic? | London, United Kingdom |
| 2008 | Kick The Habit – Towards A Low Carbon Economy | Wellington, New Zealand |
| 2009 | Your Planet Needs You – Unite to Combat Climate Change | Mexico City, Mexico |
| 2010 | Many Species. One Planet. One Future | Rangpur, Bangladesh |
| 2011 | Forests: Nature at your Service | Delhi, India |
| 2012 | Green Economy: Does it include you? | Brasília, Brazil |
| 2013 | Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Foodprint | Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
| 2014 | Raise your voice, not the sea level | Bridgetown, Barbados |
| 2015 | Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care. | Rome, Italy |
| 2016 | Zero Tolerance for the Illegal Wildlife trade | Luanda, Angola |
| 2017 | Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equator | Ottawa, Canada |
| 2018 | Beat Plastic Pollution | New Delhi, India |
| 2019 | Beat Air Pollution | China |
| 2020 | Time for Nature | Colombia |
| 2021 | Ecosystem restoration | Pakistan |
| 2022 | Only One Earth | Sweden |
| 2023 | Solutions to Plastic Pollution | Ivory Coast |
| 2024 | Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| 2025 | Ending plastic pollution | South Korea |
| 2026 | tbd | Azerbaijan |

## Annual themes and major initiatives and accomplishments

For almost five decades, World Environment Day has been raising awareness, supporting action, and driving changes for the environment. Here is a timeline of key accomplishments in WEDs' history:

### 2005

The theme for the 2005 World Environment Day was "Green Cities" and the slogan was "Plant for the Planet!".

### 2006

The topic for WED 2006 was Deserts and Desertification and the slogan was "Don't desert drylands".
The slogan emphasised the importance of protecting drylands. The main international celebrations of the World Environment Day 2006 were held in Algeria.

### 2007

The topic for World Environment Day for 2007 was "Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?" During International Polar Year, WED 2007 focused on the effects that climate change is having on polar ecosystems and communities, on other ice- and snow-covered areas of the world, and the resulting global impacts.
The main international celebrations of the WED 2007 were held in the city of Tromsø, Norway, a city north of the Arctic Circle.
Egypt issued a postage stamp for the 2007 World Environment Day.

### 2008

The host for World Environment Day 2008 was New Zealand, with the main international celebrations scheduled for Wellington. The slogan for 2008 was "CO$_2$, Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy." New Zealand was one of the first countries to pledge to achieve carbon-neutrality, and will also focus on forest management as a tool for reducing greenhouse gases.
The Chicago Botanic Garden served as the North American host for World Environment Day on 5 June 2008.

### 2009

The theme for WED 2009 was "Your Planet Needs You – UNite to Combat Climate Change", and Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" was declared "World Environment Day Song". It was hosted in Mexico.

### 2010

"Many Species. One Planet. One Future", was the theme of 2010.
It celebrated the diversity of life on Earth as part of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity. It was hosted in Rwanda. Thousands of activities were organized worldwide, with beach clean-ups, concerts, exhibits, film festivals, community events and much more. Each continent (except Antarctica) had a "regional host city", the U.N. chose Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as the host for all North.

### 2011

The theme for 2011 was 'Forests – Nature At Your Service'. Thousands of activities were organized worldwide, with beach clean-ups, concerts, exhibits, film festivals, community events, tree plantings and much more. It was hosted by India.

### 2012

The theme for the 2012 World Environment Day was Green Economy.
The theme aimed to invite people to examine their activities and lifestyle and see how the concept of a "Green Economy" fits into it. The host country for the year's celebrations was Brazil.

### 2013

The 2013 theme for World Environment Day was "Think.Eat.Save".
The campaign addressed the huge annual wastage and losses in food, which, if conserved, would release a large quantity of food as well as reduce the overall carbon footprint. The campaign aimed to bring about awareness in countries with lifestyles resulting in food wastage. It also aimed to empower people to make informed choices about the food they eat so as to reduce the overall ecological impact due to the worldwide production of food. The host country for the year's celebrations was Mongolia.
* Stage in front of the Brandenburg Gate on Environmental Festival 2011
* World Environment Day 2011 in Donetsk, Ukraine
* US Consul CG Yee, along with the Mayor of Thessaloniki Vassilis Papageorgopoulos, the Prefect of Thessaloniki Panagiotis Psomiadis, and many others participating in World Environment Day on the waterfront bike path
* Trees planting during the World Environment Day 2012 in Konso, Ethiopia
* People in Melbourne celebrate World Environment Day 2011 with a rally to fund renewable energy.

### 2014

The Theme of the 2014 WED was International Year of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS). By choosing this Theme the UN General Assembly aimed to highlight the development Challenges and successes of the SIDS. In 2014, the World Environment Day focused on global warming and its impact on ocean levels. The Slogan of the WED 2014 is "Raise your voice not the sea level", as Barbados hosted the global celebrations of the 42nd edition of the World Environment Day. The UN Environment Programme named actor Ian Somerhalder as the official Goodwill ambassador of the WED 2014.

### 2015

The Slogan of the 2015 edition of the World Environment Day was "Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care". The slogan was picked through a voting process on social media. In Saudi Arabia, 15 women recycled 2000 plastic bags to crochet a mural in support of the WED 2015. In India, Narendra Modi planted a Kadamb sapling to celebrate the World Environment Day and raise awareness for Environment. Italy is the host country of the 43rd edition of the WED. The celebrations took place as part of Milan Expo around the theme: Feeding the Planet – Energy for Life.

### 2016

The 2016 WED was organized under the theme "Go wild for life". This edition of the WED aimed to reduce and prevent the illegal trade in wildlife. Angola was chosen as the host country of the 2016 WED during the COP21 in Paris.

### 2017

The theme for 2017 was "Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equator". The host nation was Canada.

### 2018

The theme for 2018 was "Beat Plastic Pollution". The host nation was India. By choosing this theme, it is hoped that people may strive to change their everyday lives to reduce the heavy burden of plastic pollution. People should be free from the over-reliance on single-use or disposables, as they have severe environmental consequences. We should liberate our natural places, our wildlife and our own health from plastics. The Indian government pledged to eliminate all single use of plastic in India by 2022.

### 2019

The theme for 2019 was "Beat Air Pollution". The host nation was China. This theme was chosen as air pollution causes about 7 million premature deaths annually.
In Réunion Island, Miss Earth 2018 Nguyễn Phương Khánh from Vietnam delivered her speech during World Environment Day with the theme "How to fight global warming".

### 2020

The theme for 2020 was "Time for Nature", and was hosted in Colombia in partnership with Germany.
Colombia is one of the largest megadiverse countries in the world and holds close to 10% of the planet's biodiversity. Since it is part of the Amazon rainforest, Colombia ranks first in bird and orchid species diversity and second in plants, butterflies, freshwater fish, and amphibians.

### 2021

The theme for 2021 was "Ecosystem Restoration", and was hosted by Pakistan. On this occasion UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration was also launched.

### 2022

The theme for 2022 was "Only One Earth" and the event was hosted by Sweden.

### 2023

The theme for 2023 was "Solution to plastic pollution" and the event was hosted by Ivory Coast. It is a reminder that people's actions on plastic pollution matters. The steps governments and businesses are taking to tackle plastic pollution are the consequence of this action. It is time to accelerate this action and transition to a circular economy.

## Celebrations
### 1981 World Environment Day celebration

On 5 June 1981, World Environment Day 1981 was celebrated.

### 2022 World Environment Day celebration

On 5 June 2022, millions of people in multiple different countries across the whole world celebrated World Environment Day 2022 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

## World Environment Day edition dates
### 1981 and earlier

| Edition number | Date | Also known as | Day of the Week |
| 1st | 5 June 1973 | World Environment Day 1973 | Tuesday |
| 2nd | 5 June 1974 | World Environment Day 1974 | Wednesday |
| 3rd | 5 June 1975 | World Environment Day 1975 | Thursday |
| 4th | 5 June 1976 | World Environment Day 1976 | Saturday |
| 5th | 5 June 1977 | World Environment Day 1977 | Sunday |
| 6th | 5 June 1978 | World Environment Day 1978 | Monday |
| 7th | 5 June 1979 | World Environment Day 1979 | Tuesday |
| 8th | 5 June 1980 | World Environment Day 1980 | Thursday |
| 9th | 5 June 1981 | World Environment Day 1981 | Friday |

### 1982–2021 (Post-1981 and pre-2022)

| Edition number | Date | Also known as | Day of the Week |
| 10th | 5 June 1982 | World Environment Day 1982 | Saturday |
| 11th | 5 June 1983 | World Environment Day 1983 | Sunday |
| 12th | 5 June 1984 | World Environment Day 1984 | Tuesday |
| 13th | 5 June 1985 | World Environment Day 1985 | Wednesday |
| 14th | 5 June 1986 | World Environment Day 1986 | Thursday |
| 15th | 5 June 1987 | World Environment Day 1987 | Friday |
| 16th | 5 June 1988 | World Environment Day 1988 | Sunday |
| 17th | 5 June 1989 | World Environment Day 1989 | Monday |
| 18th | 5 June 1990 | World Environment Day 1990 | Tuesday |
| 19th | 5 June 1991 | World Environment Day 1991 | Wednesday |
| 20th | 5 June 1992 | World Environment Day 1992 | Friday |
| 21st | 5 June 1993 | World Environment Day 1993 | Saturday |
| 22nd | 5 June 1994 | World Environment Day 1994 | Sunday |
| 23rd | 5 June 1995 | World Environment Day 1995 | Monday |
| 24th | 5 June 1996 | World Environment Day 1996 | Wednesday |
| 25th | 5 June 1997 | World Environment Day 1997 | Thursday |
| 26th | 5 June 1998 | World Environment Day 1998 | Friday |
| 27th | 5 June 1999 | World Environment Day 1999 | Saturday |
| 28th | 5 June 2000 | World Environment Day 2000 | Monday |
| 29th | 5 June 2001 | World Environment Day 2001 | Tuesday |
| 30th | 5 June 2002 | World Environment Day 2002 | Wednesday |
| 31st | 5 June 2003 | World Environment Day 2003 | Thursday |
| 32nd | 5 June 2004 | World Environment Day 2004 | Saturday |
| 33rd | 5 June 2005 | World Environment Day 2005 | Sunday |
| 34th | 5 June 2006 | World Environment Day 2006 | Monday |
| 35th | 5 June 2007 | World Environment Day 2007 | Tuesday |
| 36th | 5 June 2008 | World Environment Day 2008 | Thursday |
| 37th | 5 June 2009 | World Environment Day 2009 | Friday |
| 38th | 5 June 2010 | World Environment Day 2010 | Saturday |
| 39th | 5 June 2011 | World Environment Day 2011 | Sunday |
| 40th | 5 June 2012 | World Environment Day 2012 | Tuesday |
| 41st | 5 June 2013 | World Environment Day 2013 | Wednesday |
| 42nd | 5 June 2014 | World Environment Day 2014 | Thursday |
| 43rd | 5 June 2015 | World Environment Day 2015 | Friday |
| 44th | 5 June 2016 | World Environment Day 2016 | Sunday |
| 45th | 5 June 2017 | World Environment Day 2017 | Monday |
| 46th | 5 June 2018 | World Environment Day 2018 | Tuesday |
| 47th | 5 June 2019 | World Environment Day 2019 | Wednesday |
| 48th | 5 June 2020 | World Environment Day 2020 | Friday |
| 49th | 5 June 2021 | World Environment Day 2021 | Saturday |

### 2022 and later

| Edition number | Date | Also known as | Day of the Week |
| 50th | 5 June 2022 | World Environment Day 2022 | Sunday |
| 51st | 5 June 2023 | World Environment Day 2023 | Monday |
| 52nd | 5 June 2024 | World Environment Day 2024 | Wednesday |
| 53rd | 5 June 2025 | World Environment Day 2025 | Thursday |
| 54th | 5 June 2026 | World Environment Day 2026 | Friday |
| 55th | 5 June 2027 | World Environment Day 2027 | Saturday |
| 56th | 5 June 2028 | World Environment Day 2028 | Monday |
| 57th | 5 June 2029 | World Environment Day 2029 | Tuesday |
| 58th | 5 June 2030 | World Environment Day 2030 | Wednesday |
| 59th | 5 June 2031 | World Environment Day 2031 | Thursday |
| 60th | 5 June 2032 | World Environment Day 2032 | Saturday |
| 61st | 5 June 2033 | World Environment Day 2033 | Sunday |
| 62nd | 5 June 2034 | World Environment Day 2034 | Monday |
| 63rd | 5 June 2035 | World Environment Day 2035 | Tuesday |
| 64th | 5 June 2036 | World Environment Day 2036 | Thursday |
| 65th | 5 June 2037 | World Environment Day 2037 | Friday |
| 66th | 5 June 2038 | World Environment Day 2038 | Saturday |
| 67th | 5 June 2039 | World Environment Day 2039 | Sunday |
| 68th | 5 June 2040 | World Environment Day 2040 | Tuesday |
| 69th | 5 June 2041 | World Environment Day 2041 | Wednesday |
| 70th | 5 June 2042 | World Environment Day 2042 | Thursday |
| 71st | 5 June 2043 | World Environment Day 2043 | Friday |
| 72nd | 5 June 2044 | World Environment Day 2044 | Sunday |
| 73rd | 5 June 2045 | World Environment Day 2045 | Monday |
| 74th | 5 June 2046 | World Environment Day 2046 | Tuesday |
| 75th | 5 June 2047 | World Environment Day 2047 | Wednesday |
| 76th | 5 June 2048 | World Environment Day 2048 | Friday |
| 77th | 5 June 2049 | World Environment Day 2049 | Saturday |