What is Earth Day, when is it and what has it achieved?

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on BBC News or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Earth Day 2025 is marked globally today under the theme “Our Power, Our Planet”, calling for a tripling of global renewable energy capacity by 2030
• This aligns with the COP28 pledge made in 2023, but progress is currently lagging, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA)
• The event, now celebrated in nearly 200 countries, mobilises over a billion participants each year

🔭 The context: Earth Day originated in 1970 in the United States, spurred by environmental disasters like the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill
• It rapidly became a platform for environmental advocacy, contributing to the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency and legislation such as the Clean Air Act
• Since becoming a global event in 1990, it has expanded its focus to include climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainable development

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Earth Day acts as both a symbolic and practical focal point for environmental action, catalysing policy shifts, awareness campaigns, and grassroots mobilisation
• However, critics warn that symbolic gestures can overshadow urgent systemic reforms
• With global renewables still falling short of the 11,000 GW target for 2030, Earth Day 2025 underscores the gap between ambition and implementation

⏭️ What's next: Organisers are urging governments to strengthen regulatory frameworks and scale up investments in solar, wind, and other renewables
• Public and private sectors are expected to ramp up commitments throughout the year, particularly ahead of COP29
• Meanwhile, watchdogs and civil society groups are intensifying scrutiny of greenwashing, calling for greater accountability in corporate sustainability claims

💬 One quote: “Celebrating Earth Day is often the first environmental action for a lot of people,” — Kathleen Rogers, President, Earthday.org.

📈 One stat: Global renewable energy capacity is forecast to reach nearly 9,800 GW by 2030—falling short of the COP28 goal of 11,000 GW (IEA, 2024)

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