APRIL 22 of each year is the day set aside to observe and celebrate Earth Day. The dedicated global day has always aimed at expanding awareness and increasing education to inspire action for environmental protection and more recently, environmental sustainability. Although the importance of the commemoration of this day is evident in our time of climate change and environmental sustainability challenges, and the shifts toward renewable energy, Earth Day has barely seen the necessary amplification across Ghana. The quiet around the day prompts the possible obscurity with regard to awareness and education regarding issues that compel the institution of the day in Ghana.
Facts about Earth Day
The International Earth Day was instituted in 1970 as a response to the increasing environmental degradation and pollution. For 55 years, the Earth Day celebration has led in awareness, education and the mobilization of communities to take action to address critical environmental issues. The day’s focus has been to celebrate Earth as a valuable resource to man, to encourage environmental sustainability by inspiring advocacy, and to strengthen environmental governance to fight the growing global environmental challenges. The day aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and 13 (Climate Action). The 2025 celebration was marked by 192 countries and over a billion people across the globe.
Earth Day 2025: Our Power Our Planet
Earth Day 2025 was marked on April 22, under the theme Our Power, Our Planet. EarthDay.org noted that was focused on advocating a tripling of global renewable energy by 2030. This emphasizes the need to create electricity through solar, wind, hydro, tidal, and geothermal sources. The broader picture of the theme is to collate the community efforts, and to drive the voice of advocacy to emphasize and support the need to rapidly transition to renewable energy sources. The sense of power to the people in this year’s theme should have driven more public participation in Ghana. However, there were only few activities to mark the day in Ghana – including a beach cleaning exercise at Ada Foah organized by the Alkebulan Heritage Centre and an educational engagement by Zania Lodge for students at the Mole Community School.
Ghana’s Growing Environmental Crisis
For a country like Ghana, the increasingly alarming environmental crisis should drive more attention to days like Earth Day, as an opportunity to put a spotlight on issues affecting the environment in Ghana. Climate change is already taking its toll in Ghana, with recent increase in tidal wave disasters in coastal areas of the Volta Region. Over the last decade, erratic rainfall patterns in Ghana have led to droughts and extreme flooding, affecting agricultural produce; and the heat has been evident. Some rivers and water sources like the Damongo Agriculture Dam have dried up.
Other serious environmental issues like the land and water degradation caused by galamsey call for the nation’s active participation in occasions like this. The galamsey (unregulated artisanal mining activities) has ravaged forest reserves and lead to the heavy pollution of rivers that are key sources of water supply for the Ghana Water Company Limited. Rural areas that directly depend on these rivers as sources of water have also been deprived of quality water due to the levels of pollution. This is leading to a looming health crisis in various Ghanaian communities.
Additionally, Ghana plays home to the world’s biggest e-waste dumping site – Agbogbloshie – where unemployed youth use environmentally unfriendly means to recycle such e waste products. The harm created does not only affect the health of these youth but also degrades the evniroment around them through heavy air and land pollution.
These key issues plaguing the Ghanaian environment are a cause for emphasis to be placed on Earth Day celebrations, as a means to draw attention to the dreadful environmental challenges across the country today.
Call to Action
It is important for key stakeholders to employ the Earth Day as a tool to maximize awareness, education and community coalitions that drive efforts toward achieving a sustainable environment. The Ministries of Environment, Science and Technology, Climate Change and Sustainability and Regional Ministries and Directorates need to be proactive on the celebration of the day to use it to amplify the realities of environmental sustainability in Ghana and to fuel what needs to be done to save Ghana. The work of non-governmental organizations like the Institute of Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM) Africa, Ghana Youth Environmental Movement, and the African Foundation for Climate Change and Sustainable Development are also relevant to push Earth Day yearly.