Iconic buildings, others to go green on World Environment Day

Global iconic buildings including the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Empire State Building, and Turin’s elegant Mole Antonellina will turn green to highlight the need to protect the threatened environment on June 5.

In New York, actor Adrian Grenier, known for his role in the hit TV show and film Entourage and for championing causes such as recycling and ocean pollution, will throw the switch to bathe the Empire State Building in green light to mark World Environment Day.

Other landmarks going green include China’s Guangzhou Tower and the Water Cube in Beijing; the CN Tower in Toronto; the Moroccan Parliament in Rabat; and the city halls of Venice and Bangkok. The 829.8 metre Burj Khalifa skyscraper is the world’s tallest artificial structure.

Its not just buildings: Niagara Falls and the Panama Canal are also turning green, and more landmarks are expected to join the list.

Greening famous buildings and natural landmarks is part of a rolling 24-hour cycle of celebrations and activities on World Environment Day. It is the United Nations’ big day for mobilizing people in support of the environment.

Governments including Canada, the host of this year’s official celebrations, as well as companies and citizens are organizing thousands of events across the planet, many of them in line with this year’s theme of connecting people with nature.

For this year’s World Environment Day, millions of people around the globe will answer the call to ‘connect with nature,’ celebrating the day by going to a park or heading to the beach and taking forward the call to protect the Earth that we share.

World Environment Day is the biggest annual event for positive environmental action and takes place every 5 June, with this year’s host country Canada at the centre of celebrations around the planet.

World Environment Day is for everyone, everywhere: whether you live in a city or the countryside, in the developed or developing world, in the invigorating chill of cold regions or the sultry heat of the tropics. Since it began in 1972, global citizens have organized many thousands of events, from neighbourhood clean-ups, to action against the illegal trade in wildlife, to replanting forests.

“We can enjoy nature year-round, but World Environment Day is when the whole world comes together to celebrate our beautiful planet,” said Erik Solheim, the head of UN Environment. “It reminds us of what a treasure nature is, and encourages us all to protect and appreciate our environment.”