Sir, – As we celebrate World Environment Day tomorrow (June 5th), I’d like to stress the theme of this year’s event, Only One Earth, which is timely as we face a climate and biodiversity emergency. There is a need for urgent action to be taken and the decisions that people make now will determine the kind of world our future generations will inherit.
This weekend, we will see the UN Environment Programme host events in Brussels to mark the occasion and light up Brussels in green to raise awareness of the importance of protecting our environment. I have been working to empower and educate young people on climate change for over two decades with Eco-Unesco. We believe that young people have a huge role to play in creating a more sustainable future and environmental education is necessary to build an understanding of the environment and the necessary steps to protect our natural world and people.
According to a recent survey we carried out, 60 per cent of young people feel anxious about climate change.
We need to do everything we can to support young people and to provide real opportunities for engagement so we can make a positive environmental difference.
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There is only one Earth, after all. – Yours, etc,
ELAINE NEVIN,
Eco-Unesco,
Dublin 2 .
