THE BIG PICTURE

We are using the equivalent of 1.6 Earths to maintain our current way of life, and ecosystems cannot
keep up with our demands.
The gap between what we need to spend to adapt and what we are actually spending is widening.
Estimated costs of adaptation continue to rise and could reach US$280-500 billion per year by 2050 for
developing countries alone.
Individuals and civil society must play a key role in raising awareness and urging governments and the
private sector to make large-scale changes.

CLIMATE CHANGE

To limit global warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century, we must halve annual greenhouse gas
emissions by 2030.
There is a 50 per cent chance that global warming will exceed 1.5°C in the next two decades.
Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is responsible for more than 25 per cent of the
warming we are experiencing today.
The climate crisis causes extreme weather events that kill or displace thousands and result in economic
losses measured in the trillions.
Investments in renewable energy can deliver high economic multipliers, have high potential to crowd-
in private investment and are an important step on the road to economy-wide decarbonization.
Even under the most optimistic scenario where net-zero is reached by 2050, global warming will
continue in the short to medium term, potentially levelling off at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

NATURE AND BIODIVERSITY LOSS

Ecosystem degradation affects the well-being of an estimated 3.2 billion people, or 40 per cent of the
world’s population.
Restoring 15 per cent of converted lands while stopping further conversion of natural ecosystems can
prevent 60 per cent of expected species extinctions.
Every year, we lose ecosystem services worth more than 10 per cent of our global economic output
Around one-third of the world’s farmland is degraded, about 87 per cent of inland wetlands worldwide
have disappeared since 1700 and one-third of commercial fish species are overexploited.
Food systems are responsible for 80% of biodiversity loss, and 80% of all agricultural land is for
livestock and its feed, while providing only 20% of calories.

POLLUTION

Air pollution causes about 7 million premature deaths every year, one in nine of all deaths. Nine out of
10 people breathe unclean air, making it the most significant environmental health risk of our time.
Only 57 per cent of countries have a legal definition for air pollution. In 2019, 92 per cent of people
experienced air pollution in excess of safe World Health Organization guidelines.
The most recent SDG monitoring cycle revealed that over 3 billion people are at risk because they
don’t know enough about the health of surface and groundwater resources.

WASTE

Under a business-as-usual scenario, annual plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could nearly
triple from 9-14 million tons in 2016 to 23-37 million tons by 2040.
The total global economic cost of marine plastic pollution on tourism, fisheries and aquaculture is
estimated to have been US$6-19 billion in 2018.
From 1950 to 2017, an estimated 9.2 billion tons of plastic was produced, 7 billion tons of which has
become waste.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2022

World Environment Day on 5 June is the biggest international day for the environment. Led by UNEP
and held annually since 1974, the event has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental
outreach, with millions of people from across the world engaging to protect the planet.
Sweden is hosting World Environment Day 2022 and will also host Stockholm+50 from 2 to 3 June.
Stochkolm+50 marks the 50th anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972. This put sustainable development on the global agenda and
led to the establishment of World Environment Day.
“Only One Earth” was the slogan for the Stockholm Conference. World Environment Day 2022 is re-
energizing the slogan to emphasize that planet Earth is still the only liveable planet we have and to
push for transformative actions to reset the balance between people and the natural world to create a
better future for all.
Over 150 countries are participating, and the UN will engage governments, businesses, civil society,
schools, celebrities, cities and communities to raise awareness and celebrate environmental action.
Sweden aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045, is a frontrunner in greening its economy, and is
rapidly adopting low-carbon and renewable infrastructure and technology.

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1. Around 27,000 trees are cut down each day

The world has over 3.04 trillion trees in the world. However, 27,000 of them are cut down daily to
make toilet paper. This translates to about 9.8 million trees annually. One single recycled edition of the
New York Times newspaper could save 75,000 tree

2. Humans use only 1% of all available water

About 71% of the earth is water. The oceans hold approximately 96.5% of this water and the ice caps
hold about 2%. The remaining water exists in rivers, ponds, glaciers, ice caps, lakes, as water vapor and
our taps, among other water bodies. Only 1% of the earth’s water is safe for human consumption.

3. 78% of marine mammals are at risk of choking on plastic

Seventy-eight percent of marine mammals are at risk of accidental deaths, such as getting caught in
fishing nets. Plastic bags and other plastic garbage that ends up in the ocean kill over 1,000,000 sea
animals every year.

4. Americans throw away 25 trillion Styrofoam cups every year

Styrofoam is not biodegradable. Switching to single use options will help cut down on Styrofoam
pollution.

5. Fungi play a highly vital role in the environment

Fungi play a protective role in the environment. From digesting minerals out of rock formations to
consuming fossil fuel spills, and even de-radiating the environment

6. Ants weigh more than humans

The combined weight of ants on the planet is higher than all human beings. The world has over 7
billion people, and 100 trillion ants.

7. Every three months, Americans throw enough aluminum in the landfills to build our nation’s entire
commercial air fleet.
Recycling one aluminum can save enough energy to run a TV for three hours. During the time it takes
you to read this sentence, 50,000 12-ounce aluminum cans are made.

8. On average, one supermarket goes through 60 million paper bags each year.
One of the best ways to cut down on single-use bags-both paper and plastic-is to switch to reusable.

9. A glass bottle can take up to 1 million years to decompose.

Glass takes a very, very long time to break down. It can take a glass bottle more than a million years to
decompose in the environment, possibly even more if it’s in a landfill. This means that glass
manufactured and used 5000 years ago may still be present in the environment. Because its life cycle is
so long, and because glass doesn’t leach any chemicals, it’s better to repurpose and reuse it over and
over again before recycling it.

10. Recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to power a normal light bulb for about four hours.
While glass does not decompose easily, recycling it might be more beneficial to the environment. The
recycling of one glass bottle not only saves energy but the energy saved can also power a normal light
bulb for about four hours.

11. The world’s oldest trees are 4,600 year old Bristlecone pines in the USA.
The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus Longaeva) has been deemed the oldest tree in existence,
reaching an age of over 5,000 years old. The Bristlecone pines’ success in living a long life can be
attributed to the harsh conditions it lives in. Very cold temperatures associated with high winds, in
addition to a slow growth rate, create dense wood, meaning some years they grow so slowly, they don’t
add a ring of growth. Learn More about these cool trees!

12. If you walk a mile along an average US highway, you will see, on average, about 1,457 pieces of
litter.
According to Keep America Beautiful, if every American picked up 152 pieces of litter at the same
time, we would have a litter-free nation.

13. Paper from trees can be recycled 6 times.

Paper comes from trees and can be recycled a maximum of six times, after which, its fibers become too
weak to hold together. Learn More

14. There is a giant floating patch of garbage

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a twisting and turning vortex composed of trash and waste. It is
twice the size of continental America and contains about 100 million tons of garbage, it stretches from
the West Coast of North America to Japan along the Pacific Ocean
“The Earth is what we all have in common.”
—Wendell Berry

“I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use.”
—Mother Teresa

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
-George Bernard Shaw

“Time spent among trees is never time wasted.”

—Anonymous

“Away, away, from men and towns,

To the wild wood and the downs, —
To the silent wilderness,
Where the soul need not repress its music.”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley

“He that plants trees loves others besides himself.”

—Thomas Fuller

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that
ever has.”
—Margaret Mead

“One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken.”
—Leo Tolstoy

“The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.”
-Lady Bird Johnson

“The Earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and
then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations.”
—John Paul II

“Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty.”
—John Ruskin

“Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries.”
—Jimmy Carter

“Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise.”
—George Washington Carver

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a
difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.”
—Jane Goodall

“What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on.”
—Henry David Thoreau