World Environment Day (WED) was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972. WED is hosted every year by a different city and commemorated with an international exposition through the week of June 5. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), also created in 1972, uses WED to stimulate awareness of the environment and enhance political attention and public action.

World Environment Day 2008



The host for World Environment Day 2008 will be New Zealand, with the main international celebrations scheduled for Wellington. The slogan for 2008 is "CO2, Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy." New Zealand was one of the first countries to pledge to achieve carbon neutrality, and will also focus on forest management as a tool for reducing greenhouse gases.


Previous themes

2007 - Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?
2006 - Deserts and Desertification - Don't Desert Drylands!
2005 - Green Cities – Plan for the Planet!
2004 - Wanted! Seas and Oceans – Dead or Alive?
2003 - Water – Two Billion People are Dying for It!
2002 - Give Earth a Chance
2001 - Connect with the World Wide Web of Life
2000 - The Environment Millennium - Time to Act
1999 - Our Earth - Our Future - Just Save It!
1998 - For Life on Earth - Save Our Seas
1997 - For Life on Earth
1996 - Our Earth, Our Habitat, Our Home
1995 - We the Peoples: United for the Global Environment
1994 - One Earth One Family
1993 - Poverty and the Environment - Breaking the Vicious Circle
1992 - Only One Earth, Care and Share
1991 - Climate Change. Need for Global Partnership
1990 - Children and the Environment
1989 - Global Warming; Global Warning
1988 - When People Put the Environment First, Development Will Last
1987 - Environment and Shelter: More Than A Roof
1986 - A Tree for Peace
1985 - Youth: Population and the Environment
1984 - Desertification
1983 - Managing and Disposing Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and Energy
1982 - Ten Years After Stockholm (Renewal of Environmental Concerns)
1981 - Ground Water; Toxic Chemicals in Human Food Chains
1980 - A New Challenge for the New Decade: Development Without Destruction
1979 - Only One Future for Our Children - Development Without Destruction
1978 - Development Without Destruction
1977 - Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil Degradation
1976 - Water: Vital Resource for Life
1975 - Human Settlements
1974 - Only one Earth

Previous host cities

2007 - Tromsø, Norway
2006 - Algiers, Algeria
2005 - San Francisco, U.S.
2004 - Barcelona, Spain
2003 - Beirut, Lebanon
2002 - Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
2001 - Torino, Italy and Havana, Cuba
2000 - Adelaide, Australia
1999 - Tokyo, Japan
1998 - Moscow, Russian Federation
1997 - Seoul, Republic of Korea
1996 - Istanbul, Turkey
1995 - Pretoria, South Africa
1994 - London, United Kingdom
1993 - Beijing, People's Republic of China
1992 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1991 - Stockolm, Sweden
1990 - Mexico City, Mexico
1989 - Brussels, Belgium
1988 - Bangkok, Thailand
1987 - Nairobi, Kenya