This week Earth Day celebrated its 50th anniversary. Beginning in the US in 1970, it became a global event in 1990 and now reaches over a billion people in almost 200 countries. 

The theme this year was ‘climate action’ – identified as the most pressing topic for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (also #13 of the Sustainable Development Goals). We asked three of our Communities (Behavioural & Social Sciences, Ecology & Evolution and Sustainability) to share their thoughts and expertise on this theme.

From Earth Hour in Vietnam to lessons in philosophy, contributions were diverse, and of course the effect of Covid-19 featured prominently. A few highlights from across the Communities are listed below, but at the bottom of this post there's a link to each Communities' individual Earth Day Collection.  

Thomas Sterner and colleagues consider how the economic response to Covid-19 provides an opportunity for environmental change and a sustainable future. This is Thomas’ third community post, having previously written a Behind the Paper post and contributing to last year’s Earth Day. 

Chandni Singh, from the Indian Institute for Human Settlements in Bangalore, writes about the meaning of individual action and why it matters when it comes to global challenges like Covid-19 and the climate crisis. 

President of the Portuguese Ecological Society, Maria Amélia Martins-Loução, opens her post with a great historical perspective and then goes on to explore the synergies between biodiversity, climate change, public health and economic strategy, with a great reference to Greek mythology too. 

In his Earth Day post Can global crises, like the current coronavirus pandemic, trigger structural change towards a carbon-neutral energy future? 

Johan Lilliestam, from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, examines whether global crises, like the current coronavirus pandemic, can trigger structural change towards a carbon-neutral energy future.  

And finally, an Earth Day post you can listen to from Communications Earth & Environment Chief Editor Heike Langenberg!

Earth Day Collections on:

• Behavioural & Social Sciences
• Ecology & Evolution
• Sustainability

Thanks to all our contributors without whom these great collections wouldn't be possible!  

(poster image: Fridays for Future demonstration, Pixabay)