幫地球集氣! UN:一人一個小改變 就從消費開始 | 環境資訊中心
國際新聞

幫地球集氣! UN:一人一個小改變 就從消費開始

2015年06月09日
摘譯自2015年6月5日ENS美國,紐約市報導;姜唯編譯;蔡麗伶審校

上周五(6月5日)是世界環境日。聯合國在此時警告,地球許多生態系統正走向「關鍵臨界點」;同時,聯合國邀請全球72億住民在這一天以一個小改變、一件更負責任的消費行為來共襄盛舉,如改以電子機票搭飛機,或是騎自行車上班。

James Cridland

每個人都做出一點小改變,就能集結大力量。圖片來源:James Cridland。(CC BY 2.0)

一個地球 回歸理性消費

今年世界環境日的主題是「70億個夢想、一個地球、理性消費。」強調包容、永續的環境發展和穩定減少資源消耗是每個人的責任。

聯合國環境規劃署(UNEP)執行長Achim Steiner邀請所有人一起想像,「如果70億人每人能實現一個改變,改以更負責任的方式使用資源,世界會變得如何。」

「個人的力量容易被低估。但我們每天的消費決策,乘以數10億,就能對環境有巨大的影響──有些耗竭環境資源,有些卻能保護脆弱生態。我們必須捫心自問,這個消費步調乘上人口增加會帶來什麼後果。2050年,全球人口可是會增加到90億。」Steiner說。

Steiner表示,「1900年全球資源開採總量為70億噸。但根據目前的趨勢,2050年將成長到1400億噸。這可能超過了地球資源的可用性和可得性,帶來超過地球所能負荷的衝擊。」

你我有責 每個人都是環境大使

聯合國秘書長潘基文說明,「永續發展的目標是改善全人類的生活品質而不增加環境負擔,亦不犧牲後代的資源。只要透過改用消耗較少能源、水和其他資源的產品,減少食物浪費,就能做到。」

世界環境日「希望讓每個人瞭解照顧地球的責任,成為改變的大使。」

義大利是今年世界環境日的主辦國,2015年米蘭世博亦舉辦系列相關活動,有超過140個國家和許多國際組織參與。

除了官方慶祝活動外,也有許多非政府組織舉辦的活動。「拯救兒童館」(Save The Children Pavilion)主辦的「三思而後吃」(Think Eat Preserve)展覽展出UNEP永續糧食兒童繪畫比賽的得獎作品。UNEP、慢食(Slow Food)和象牙海岸足球明星兼UNEP大使亞亞·圖雷共同主辦兒童廚餘烹飪課,在生態地中海館(Bio-Mediterraneum Cluster)舉行,預計將有4000名來自第里雅斯特和奈洛比的兒童參加。

World Environment Day: UN Asks Us Each for One Change
NEW YORK, New York, June 5, 2015 (ENS)
象牙海岸足球明星亞亞·圖雷(Yaya Toure)和UNEP總裁Achim Steiner共乘電動車,參與米蘭世博的世界環境日活動。圖片來源:UNEP。

Many of the Earth’s ecosystems are approaching “critical tipping points,” the United Nations warned today, World Environment Day. The world body accompanied the warning with an invitation to each of the planet’s 7.247 billion plus people to mark the day by making one change towards more responsible consumption of resources, such as flying with e-tickets instead of paper tickets or riding a bike to work.

The theme of this year’s day, “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.” emphasizes the personal responsibility each person bears for enabling inclusive and sustainable economic development while stabilizing and reducing the rate of resource use.

“The goal of sustainable development is to increase the quality of life for all people without increasing environmental degradation and without compromising the resource needs of future generations,” Ban said. “We can do this by shifting our consumption patterns towards goods that use less energy, water and other resources and by wasting less food.”

Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, UNEP, invited “everyone to imagine what the world would be like if each of the seven billion people made one change towards a more responsible consumption of resources.”

“It is easy to underestimate the power of individual action,” Steiner said. “Our daily decisions as consumers, multiplied by billions, have a colossal impact on the environment – some of them contribute to the further depletion of natural resources, others help to protect fragile ecosystems.”

“We must ask ourselves what the consequences of this pace of consumption and trajectory of population growth – forecasted to reach nine billion by 2050 – will be,” he said.

“Under current trends, global extraction of resources is set to reach 140 billion tonnes by 2050, compared to around seven billion tonnes in 1900,” said Steiner. “This will probably exceed the availability and accessibility of resources, as well as the carrying capacity of the planet to absorb the impacts of their extraction and use.”

World Environment Day “is the opportunity for everyone to realize the responsibility to care for the Earth and to become agents of change,” Steiner said.

Italy is the host of this year’s World Environment Day celebrations which are taking place at Expo Milano 2015, which is expected to include over 140 countries plus many international organizations.

In addition to the official celebrations, the Expo site is hosting many events today. The NGO Save The Children Pavilion is hosting “Think Eat Preserve,” an exhibition of drawings made by the children who won the competition launched by UNEP about sustainable food. Cooking with leftovers, a cooking class for children organized by UNEP and Slow Food and held by Yaya Toure, the famous Ivorian footballer and UNEP ambassador, takes place inside the Bio-Mediterraneum Cluster and 4,000 children shall be participating live from Trieste and Nairobi. 

※ 全文及圖片詳見:ENS

作者

蔡麗伶(LiLing Barricman)

In my healing journey and learning to attain the breath awareness, I become aware of the reality that all the creatures of the world are breathing the same breath. Take action, here and now. From my physical being to the every corner of this out of balance's planet.