The Great Ones gather at the bedside of the Earth. In the 46th edition of Earth Day (the anniversary was invented in 1970 in the USA), today 22 April, a ceremony will take place at the United Nations in New York which will initiate the signing of the new global climate agreement approved in the last COP 21 of the Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris: country representatives should also announce their plans for rapid ratification and new and more incisive initiatives to keep global warming below 1,5°C if possible. The road indicated is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by the second half of the century a brake on fossil fuels and giving impetus to renewables: for this reason the commitment undertaken in Paris aims to remain "well below 2 degrees" of temperature increase compared to pre-industrial levels, and if possible to contain it within 1,5 degrees.
The event falls more than ever in the most critical moment, given that the 2015 was confirmed to be the hottest year on record and the first three months of 2016 were characterized by record temperatures.
But it is the presence of over 165 world leaders at the UN, as has never happened before, that made the signing of the agreement reached in Paris last December 12th more solemn and significant. There will be, among others, the Italian premier Matteo Renzi.
ABSOLUTE RECORD
It is an absolute record for the number of countries that sign an international agreement on the same day. This hasn't happened since 1982 when 119 states signed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: for the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, the Paris Agreement, together with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, "has the power to transform the world". The agreement will have to be ratified by individual states and will enter into force 30 days after at least 55 countries representing 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions have deposited their ratification at the UN.
"We have no higher priority this year than making sure the US, China, India and the European Union, and all the major CO2 producers, sign the Paris Agreement," he said. Kathleen Rogers, president of Earth Day Network –. We need to prove that what happened in Paris last December was not just talk." Last year, according to a Bloomberg report, the renewables sector ignored the collapse in oil prices and achieved its all-time investment record: growth that seems to prove right those who have directed a significant portion of their investments to the green segment .
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Morgan Stanley has prepared a report that indicates the risks for investors linked to the world of fossils and provides advice on the choices to be made in the new energy context. Because the risks are serious: the Barclays Bank has estimated at 33 trillion dollars the losses by 2040 that the world of fossil fuels could suffer as a result of the acceleration of climate policies.
INITIATIVES ALL OVER THE WORLD
The anniversary is celebrated with a series of events all over the world, organized by associations such as WWF, Legambiente, Greenpeace: also Google is celebrating theEarth Day with a series of special doodles. An ambitious project is also launched internationally, that of planting as many trees as there are inhabitants of the Earth: 7,8 billion, between now and 2020.
Italy is also preparing to celebrate Earth Day 2016 with a series of initiatives planned from North to South with the aim of "promoting the formation of a new environmental awareness". And the city of Rome will host the "Concert for the Earth" scheduled for 22 April, at 20.00, at the Village for the Earth at the Galoppatoio in Villa Borghese with free admission.
Technology also participates: in addition to the Google initiative, the Apple Store has launched as many as 27 applications, the Apps for Earth, While the NASA invited the international public to give their contribution to the event with a photo or video "focused on the activity that is taking place to celebrate the day", which will then be posted with the hashtag #24Seven on social media Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
