This week, millions are marking Earth Day. But can it help the world change course?

Hello and welcome to the AP Climate Watch newsletter. I’m Dana Beltaji, an editor for AP’s Climate and Environment team. Today I’d like to talk about whether events like Earth Day can help move the needle when it comes to addressing climate and environmental crises.

Monday was Earth Day, and around the world this week, people will be cleaning up beaches, roads and waterways in their communities, going on marches, or hosting lectures or awareness events. But can thousands of individuals showing their support for protecting Earth for a week make a difference?

Earth Day has its roots in the U.S.’s environmental movement in the 1960s and ‘70s, as concern for the environment catapulted into U.S. mainstream public consciousness with Rachel Carson’s 1962 book “Silent Spring” about the impact of the pesticide DDT on the food chain.

It’s just one instance of environmentalist traditions around the world: Indigenous groups across the globe who have long protected much of the world’s land are today heralded by conservation groups and international bodies like the United Nations as the best stewards of the land. They protect 80% of the world’s biodiversity despite being just 5% of the world’s population, according to the U.N. Environment Programme.

Indigenous groups – from Adivasi groups in India to tribes in the U.S. West – often have to go to great lengths to secure their rights to the land they help protect. Looking after nature and its stewards is an uphill battle.

Still, activists and scientists alike say individuals looking to better the planet should be undeterred. When asked if one person can make a difference for an AP series on frequently asked climate questions, University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann said, "We should all be the most responsible citizens we can be in every sense of the word and contribute to a sustainable existence on this planet."

That doesn’t mean corporations and governments who are responsible for most of the destruction are off the hook or can blame the public, climate experts told AP, but individuals can play a role by making their own changes and by banding together to pressure big polluters to do more.

In the U.S., that positive public response to the first Earth Day back in 1970 is credited with helping pass major legislation, like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. More recently, activists taking their governments to court are seeing wins, forcing countries to take more action on climate change.

So while experts say progress is coming too slowly right now for the urgency of our climate and biodiversity goals, there are some signs that public consciousness and participation in movements can make a shift in addressing the climate and environmental damages that abound on Earth. 

Check out all our climate coverage here.

Here’s what else you need to know 

🛢️ An AP investigation finds that a settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with no more than around $1,300 each.

📉 A new study calculates that climate change will eat away $38 trillion of the world’s income a year by 2049. 

🐮 Climate change rules on planting, harvesting and using fertilizers in Europe are frustrating farmers. The far right is stoking the flames. 

✅ Climate Solutions

The world is “moving in the right direction” on wind energy: 117 gigawatts of new wind power capacity was installed in 2023, a 50% increase from the year before, making it the best year for new wind projects on record, according to a report published last week by the Global Wind Energy Council.

While the industry needs to ramp up even more to reach the goal of tripling renewables by 2030, Christian Andresen, at SINTEF Energy Research, a Norway-based institute, called the growth "an important building block in the transition towards a net-zero emission society."

Thank you for reading this newsletter. We’ll be back next week. For questions, suggestions or ideas please email ClimateWatch@ap.org 

This newsletter was written by Dana Beltaji, an editor for climate and environment, and produced by climate engagement manager Natalia Gutiérrez. 

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