Fifty years on, will this be the year we collectively stop taking the planet for granted, degrading and exploiting its resources? Will we now, also, realise how vulnerable a species we actually are?
Fifty years ago today, the first Earth Day was marked in the United States as a peaceful call for environmental reform, following a massive oil spill off the coast of California. Half a century later, this annual day unites millions across the globe, drawing attention to the huge challenges facing our planet.
Now more than ever, Earth Day offers an opportunity for us all to reflect upon our relationship with the planet, amid the most powerful possible message that nature can surprise us at any moment, with devastating consequences for pretty much every individual. It is a time when the health of the planet and its people has never been so important.
United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the recovery from the pandemic must be turned into a real opportunity to do things right for the future.
While the impact of COVID-19 was both "immediate and dreadful" and countries must work together to save lives and lessen the consequences of the pandemic, he said there was "another, even deeper emergency - the planet's unfolding environmental crisis".
"Biodiversity is in steep decline. Climate disruption is approaching a point of no return.
"We must act decisively to protect our planet from both the coronavirus and existential threat of of climate disruption."
