New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today gave a big shout out to those working at the forefront to defeat COVID-19 on the occasion of Earth Day 2020 and urged people to work towards a cleaner, healthier and more prosperous planet.
“On International Day of Mother Earth, we all express gratitude to our planet for the abundance of care & compassion. Let us pledge to work towards a cleaner, healthier & more prosperous planet. A shout out to all those working at the forefront to defeat COVID-19,” he tweeted.
On International Day of Mother Earth, we all express gratitude to our planet for the abundance of care & compassion. Let us pledge to work towards a cleaner, healthier & more prosperous planet.
A shout out to all those working at the forefront to defeat COVID-19. #EarthDay2020
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 22, 2020
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change also tweeted on the occasion saying that its Chandigarh ENVIS Centre organised a contest for students and teachers of over 50 Schools of the Chandigarh city, yesterday.
To observe 50th anniversary of #WorldEarthDay, MoEF&CC’s Chandigarh ENVIS Centre organised ‘Do It Yourself-Acts of Green: Inter-School Mobile Video Contest’, on 21st April 2020 for the students & teachers of over 50 Schools of the Chandigarh city.#EarthDay2020
— MoEF&CC (@moefcc) April 22, 2020
Earth day 2020 is not just the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, but also the anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement to take climate action. The day is celebrated on April 22 every year.
As coronavirus has been spreading around the world and dominating news headlines, thoughts and attention, the need to take climate action has remained as urgent as ever, according to UN environment programme.
The first Earth Day took place in 1970. Outraged by oil spills, smog and polluted rivers, 20 million people took to the streets, protesting what they recognized as an environmental crisis. It was the planet’s largest civic event at the time and compelled governments to take concrete actions, including passing environmental laws and establishing environmental agencies.
In 2009, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution formally recognizing the day as International Mother Earth Day. On Earth Day 2016, the United Nations formally adopted the Paris Agreement, articulating the commitment of nations to limit global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels; and to strengthen the ability of countries to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change.
