Scouts are making sure they will be prepared for World Environment Day (WED) on the 5th of June, with this year's theme being 'CO2 Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy.' This theme challenges all of us to look critically at our day-to-day lives and take steps to reduce our climate change impact.
Scouts are already doing many good turns for the environment and focussing on the climate change problem. Scouts Canada have a Climate Change Ambassadors Programme and have worked with 10 countries in Southern Africa to develop their climate change programmes.
UNEP Billion Trees Campaign which act as an important carbon sink. Scouts are encouraged to still further pledge and register their tree planting efforts through the campaign on the Billion Trees Campaign website.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "What we need is action to slow, stop and then to reverse the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions. A transition to a low carbon economy is essential to achieving this," said Mr. Steiner.
"Along the way we will see more rapid and widespread access to cleaner and greener energy, new job opportunities and reductions in unhealthy urban and in-door pollution. WED is about positive perspectives on change," he added.
The World Organization of the Scout Movement's (WOSM) Acting Secretary General, Luc Panissod encourages Scouts to participate in WED, "Through local-level action throughout the world, Scouts are taking the lead in their communities and making a real impact on environmental issues. At all levels of Scouting we must look to see how we can be a part of the solution."
For more information on World Environment Day celebrations and suggestions for what you can do, plus to register your activity visit the WED website. For more information on how you can help Kick the CO2 Habit, check out the latest Tunza Magazine.
Please share your environment activities with the World Scout Bureau by emailing email@example.com, Unit Manager Environment Education.
Picture: Scouts are encouraged to learn about alternative energy sources like solar power for this year's World Environment Day.
© WSB / R.Abson