This year’s focus emphasizes the significance of cooperation from all people to discover alternative sustainable energy. Earth Day is an international event celebrated every 22nd of April to remind people to be more conscious about saving our planet and to persuade them to act on it. “Our Power, Our Planet,” the theme of this year, invites all to join hands to harness green energy in order to build a just, sustainable, and prosperous future. The climate crisis is so severe that we must act immediately, and the solutions for having clean, secure, and affordable energy are already at our doorstep.
Earth Day began in 1970 when U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin, inspired by the damage a huge oil spill in California had done to the environment, thought of a national teach-in on the subject. With the help of activist Denis Hayes, the first Earth Day was held on April 22, which was picked to get as many students as possible to take part. Earth Day has become a worldwide cause over the years, getting people in over 192 countries to do good things.
The message of Earth Day this year is stronger than ever: now is the time to switch to green energy. Leaders from different fields stress the need for a unified approach to a sustainable energy future as the world struggles with the worsening climate problem. “Cutting emissions is not something we have to make today for today. It is something that one should attain at a long-vision programme,” said Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Fincantieri.
Politics changes can be hard, especially since the second Trump administration started in January 2025 and has already put in place policies that could hurt environmental laws. However, support for clean energy keeps growing. The Trump administration has pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement and revoked important rules under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Some people are worried that this will speed up building projects without enough environmental review.
One of the most important things the Trump government has done is start a new five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program. This will allow more drilling to happen outside of the Gulf of Mexico. This fits with the administration’s bigger plan, which is laid out in Project 2025 and aims to weaken federal environmental protections and encourage the growth of fossil fuels.
Even though the federal government has changed its policies, there are big steps forward in green energy technologies. In 2023, the U.S. produced more than 238,121 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity from solar energy, which was a record high. This is more than eight times the amount of electricity produced from solar energy in 2014. California and Texas are the top states for solar power production. In the same year, Texas also produced 28% of the country’s energy from wind power.
The green energy market was worth $1.21 trillion around the world in 2023, and it’s expected to keep growing at a rate of 17.2% per year until 2030. Countries like China and Brazil are putting a lot of money into renewable energy. China has the most solar and wind power of any country in the world. Solar and wind energy production in China rose by 45% and 18%, respectively, from the previous year to 357 gigawatts in 2024. In the first nine months of 2023, Brazil, on the other hand, got almost all of its energy from clean sources. Hydroelectric power made up 68% of its total electricity production.
Not only is switching to renewable energy good for the environment, it also opens up big business possibilities. The 2022 National Solar Jobs Census found that 263,883 people worked in the U.S. solar energy business, which is 3.5% more than the previous year. In 2020, 430,500 people worked in Canada’s clean energy field. By 2030, that number is expected to have grown to 639,200, which is an increase of almost 50%.
Additionally, switching to clean energy has huge advantages for your health. Cutting back on fossil fuels can clean up the air a lot and lower the number of asthma, coughing, heart disease, and strokes. Clean energy also makes water cleaner, which lowers the risk of getting diseases from water and helps public health services.
As Earth Day 2025 goes on, it’s clear what needs to be done. There are many groups that can help with the switch to renewable energy sources, from businesses and schools to local governments and towns. Callie Bendickson, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Itron, said, “Education plays a critical role in empowering and inspiring long-term sustainability.” Giving young people the tools to understand how energy, water, and climate are connected will help them make smarter choices.
Looking back at how far things have come since the first Earth Day, it’s clear that the move towards green energy is picking up speed, even though there are still problems to solve. People, businesses, and governments must all speak with one voice to bring about change. Individual acts, like choosing a more environmentally friendly way of life and supporting climate policies, can add up to change the status quo.
As we celebrate Earth Day, let us promise to keep protecting our world and using renewable energy to build a better future. As stated by EarthDay.org, “The production and use of renewable energy transcends economic systems, political borders, and political parties, demonstrating a universal appeal.” Together, we can build a cleaner, healthier, and more equitable world for generations to come.
