Earth Day 2023 Theme – ‘Invest in Our Planet’: Saturday, April 22 – Plan an Event and Join a Campaign!
Published on March, 00 2023
by Nancy Price
Co-chair, Earth Democracy Committee
April 2023
This year’s Earth Day theme “Invest in Our Planet” focuses on engaging governments, institutions, businesses, and the more than one billion citizens who participate annually in Earth Day to do their part – “everyone accounted for, everyone accountable.”
This may be the first Earth Day when so much attention is focused on climate. After the most recent IPCC Synthesized Report for the Sixth Assessment Report was released on March 23, 2023, UN Secretary General António Guterres exclaimed: “The climate time bomb is ticking.”
This IPCC Report issued the warning that we need to keep global warming from exceeding 1.5 degree Celsius and cut GHG emissions by nearly half by 2030. The report emphasized that effective and equitable climate action now could reduce losses and damages for nature and people and create a safer, sustainable world. Should global warming pass 1.5 degrees Celsius, it would be devastating for the Earth’s people and ecosystems. Can we slow down catastrophic global warming, and reduce devastating weather events, rising seas, floods, droughts, food and water insecurity and hunger?
Earth Day 2023 Campaigns
The 2023 campaigns are described at www.earthday.org/earth-day-2023/ under Our Work with pictures, videos, and actions to take that will appeal to people of all ages, backgrounds, and interests. They focus on:
- The Canopy Project: Conservation and Restoration to plant trees
- Climate & Environmental Literacy
- Plastic Pollution
- Fashion for the Earth
- Foodprints for the Future
- The Great Global Cleanup
- My Future My Voice
- Regenerative Agriculture.
What does this year’s “theme” mean to you and your branch at a time of great urgency, human suffering, environmental destruction, and loss of species?
What campaign might your branch work on – not just on Earth Day, but all year?! Design handouts and signs. Consider your message and the kind of publicity you what. Order one of these WILPF banners:
Consult the Earth Day Action Toolkit and register your event on the Take Action Earth Day Map! Please send pictures of your actions and events to EarthDemocracy@wilpfus.org with appropriate acknowledgements and captions.
The Earth Day Initiative: Festival + Virtual Stage on April 16
For those of you in the New York City area, on Sunday, April 16, you can join the in-person Earth Day 2023 Festival in Union Square, East 17th Street and Park Avenue South, from 12 to 6 pm. The organizers aim to “build the climate conversation, and the call for environmental justice in this pivotal year.”
This Earth Day Initiative includes special programs: Volunteering & Community Engagement, Renewable & Clean Energy, Sustainable Food, and Green and Healthy Buildings with comprehensive information on the topics and tips for organizing.
Are any of these initiatives already taking place in your community? Take this opportunity to work with other groups to advocate for funding and support for one of these programs to create new policy where you live.
People across the country and worldwide may tune into the “Virtual Stage” to hear speakers, music and more. While 2023 plans are finalized, check out the Earth Day 2022 Virtual Stage schedule here.
A Growing Chorus
Combining Earth Day with campaigns and climate will bring together different groups of people and organizations that often work in their own silos. This will further expand the movement for a just and sustainable world.
A growing chorus of those most impacted by global warming in parts of Africa, Asia, Central and South America, the Least Developed Countries, Small Islands, and the Arctic will be heard demanding action and that governments, institutions, and businesses must be held accountable.
