Every year on April 22nd, for 50 years now, numerous activities and actions around the world aim to encourage people to reflect on the importance of the environment and nature and by doing that – Earth Day is celebrated.
The idea of marking Earth Day was first introduced in 1969, but it has been officially celebrated since 1992 when a far-reaching program to promote sustainable development was coordinated at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. In 2009, the UN General Assembly proclaimed April 22nt as the International Planet Earth Day, which was first celebrated on April 22nd, 1970, at US universities. This day has been celebrated in the Republic of Croatia since 1990.
The theme of Earth Day this year is climate change. The topic is extremely trending all over the world, especially in Europe, since the European Commission presented at the end of last year the European Green Deal, which reaffirms its commitment to meeting the challenges in the area of climate and environment.
The ambitious goals, measures and initiatives set out in the European Green Plan should meet the sustainable development goals, ensure a green and equitable transition and make Europe a climate-neutral continent by 2050. It is a new growth strategy that seeks to transform the European Union into a prosperous society with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy in which there will be no net greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 and where economic growth is not linked to prudent use of resources. In addition, it seeks to protect, conserve and improve the state of biodiversity, the natural capital of the European Union, and to protect the health and well-being of citizens from environmental risks and environmental impacts.
CROATIA FULLFILLED ALL OBLIGATIONS TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
In order to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the joint action of all economic sectors, as well as the inclusion of all available resources, is necessary. In this context, the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union also began – Croatian Ministry of Environment and Energy writes.
As they explain, Croatia is involved in achieving the goal of preventing climate change globally by implementing the obligations of international deals - the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC Convention), the Kyoto Protocol and its Doha Amendment. Croatia has also signed and ratified a new global agreement on climate change, adopted at the UNFCCC Conference of Parties in December 2015, the so-called The Paris Agreement. So far, according to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Croatia has fulfilled all obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition, the Republic of Croatia adopted its first Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for the period up to 2040, with a view to 2070, through coordinated action to increase resilience to climate change and reduce the occurrence of damage from extreme weather events. The following is the development of an action plan with priority measures. At the same time, through specialized programs, the Ministry is investing in research and development on climate change adaptation.
Ministry emphasizes that nature, especially through the ecosystem services it provides, can provide over 30 percent of the economical climate change mitigation needed by 2030. Nature-based solutions (NBS) are a key part of global efforts to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement to stabilize warming below 2 Celsius degrees. This includes the conservation and restoration of forests and other terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, sustainable agriculture and food production, which will be a direct contribution to achieving CO2 neutrality, as well as mitigating and adapting to increasingly pronounced climate extremes. In 2019, Croatia joined the Coalition for Nature-Based Solutions within which the NBS manifest was created.
