Press Release
EARTHDAY.ORG partners with ICLEI to launch the EARTH DAY GLOBAL CONVERSATION, inviting local leaders world-wide to embrace the benefits of renewable energy: job creation and environmental sustainability.
November 20, 2024
Washington, DC (November 20, 2024) – EARTHDAY.ORG, EDO, the global leader in Earth Day advocacy, observed by over one billion people every April 22, is excited to announce a new global campaign with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI): the Earth Day Global Conversation. This partnership will help activate mayors and city governments worldwide to host public dialogues on how renewable energy can benefit their communities. With ‘Conversations’ kicking off in April 2025 and running throughout the end of the year.
“We know that talking is often the very first step on the road to change, EARTHDAY.ORG wants to help spark a million new conversations across the globe about how local communities can investigate, invest and integrate renewable energy to their own advantage.”
Renewable energy – be it wind, solar, geothermal, hydro or tidal – mitigates climate change but can also lower electricity bills, create jobs and generate local revenue. It also has the potential to attract inward investment that local communities so desperately need. We are in talks with Miami (Florida), Louisville (Kentucky) and Irving (Texas) to host a ‘Conversation’, and thousands more are expected to follow in the next 6 months.
“Local governments have an increasingly important role to play in caring for the well-being of their constituents, and renewable energy is a win – win situation: it brings prosperity and tackles climate pollution, all at the same time.”
This initiative will showcase leadership at the municipal level and EDO and ICLEI will work with mayors and local leaders to invite business, parents, schools, unions and faith groups – the entire community – to come together to discuss their route to renewable energy.
Each ‘Conversation’ is a chance to explore how cities can take the lead in renewable energy and make a real difference in their communities. By advocating for local investment in clean energy and climate solutions, we can unlock new jobs and economic opportunities. Take Melbourne, Australia, for example – a wind project there powers the city’s infrastructure with renewables but also created 140 new jobs. Or Boa Vista, in Brazil, where a solar energy plant is set to save the city $1 million each year. These are real examples of how renewable energy can drive change at a local level.
Globally, the world stands to save a gargantuan $12 trillion from the renewable energy transition. In the last decade, solar panel costs have dropped by 90%, and onshore wind costs dropped by 70%. Renewable energy has become the world’s most affordable source of power; there has never been a better time than now to make this transition.
“This really is a way for local communities to come together, from business to families to unions to schools, faith groups, schools and students to learn about how renewable energy can benefit their town or city in a meaningful way.”