Zero Emissions Day
On the 21st of September, the world celebrates Zero Emissions Day. On this day we give our planet a break from fossil fuels and what they release into the air. This can include greenhouse gases, polluting substances and other micro-particles that harm our planet.
This day is very important as it is a chance to motivate society to use renewable energy sources rather than fossil fuels.
Zero Emissions Day is a worldwide movement, this started in 2008 when the founder Ken Wallace launched a website in Canada calling for a day where no fossil fuels are consumed. A special statement he said was to “give our planet one day off a year”. The key idea in this message was that everyone gets a ‘rest day’ so why not give our planet rest from emissions and pollution.
Why is this day important?
People use this day to raise awareness and educate society about the impacts of fossil fuels on the environment. Education can involve explaining how everyone can minimise our carbon footprint and how this can be done by using electricity generated by nature rather than generated by fossil fuels.
Another way to help the environment on this day and in the long term is remembering the five R’s - refuse, reduce, reuse, rot, recycle. Society has evolved and more places are removing single-use plastic products. Buy only things you really need, find a way of reusing and upcycling things and perhaps create a compost system for your food scraps. Lastly, recycle any plastic, paper, glass and metal.
Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels cause unsafe compounds in the atmosphere which deletes the ozone levels which cause harm to humans. As well as that the compounds released into the air such as nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide that come from car engines and power plants will harm the environment and cause smog, which harms humans as we breathe this air in.
Fossil fuels are the biggest contributor to air emissions. This day is a great reminder for people to be aware of their fossil fuel consumption level. Climate change is a big topic now, these conditions can cause disastrous natural events, such as fires and droughts.
Our energy consumption is significant and with more and more advanced shifts made in society, this will add to the electricity consumption in our daily lives. In addition, the government spends an outstanding amount on electricity generation and transmission for people on this planet. Power plants also burn a significant amount of fossil fuels.
Our phones, laptops, and basically everything in our daily lives needs to be powered through electricity which is generated through fossil fuel, with only a small percentage generated through renewable sources such as solar, water, biomass and wind. If we all move towards energy-efficient sources rather than fuel sources, we can help make a change to our planet, life and animals.
What to do from here?
The overall goal is to encourage people to make more climate-friendly choices in their everyday lives. In 2020, the Climate Leadership Coalition helped organise a Zero Emissions Day for schools with children and the youth foundation. They also implemented climate-friendly policies and organised campaigns with stakeholders.
These incorporated short videos of young climate activists and how everyone can make a difference to the environment through their daily lives. Zero Emissions Day is a great opportunity for each of us to reflect on how we consume and impact the environment, and that we can reduce harmful carbon emissions.
If we can put the right policies in place, this can push progress towards a clean future. Reducing the demand for fuel-sourced energy and putting in renewable sources will contribute to this.
New Zealand is currently working on a fossil fuel subsidy reform that can help reduce global warming and reduce a significant amount of emissions by 2025. The most important thing to take away is as long as small changes are made each day, we can all contribute to making the world a better place and help preserve our planet.