Mexico, a country at the crossroads of the Green Economy and one
increasingly in the centre of regional and global affairs, will
host the international 2009 World Environment Day celebrations.
The theme chosen by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which
coordinates the day on 5 June on behalf of the UN system and the
peoples of the world, will be ‘Your Planet Needs You—UNite to
Combat Climate Change”. It reflects the urgency for nations to
agree on a new agreement at the crucial climate convention
meeting in Copenhagen some 180 days later in the year, and the
links with overcoming poverty and improved management of
forests. The news that Mexico has been chosen to host World
Environment Day (WED) 2009 was announced jointly by President
Felipe Calderón and Achim Steiner, UNEP’s Executive Director at
a press conference in Mexico City. The decision in part reflects
the growing practical and political role of the Latin American
country in the fight against climate change, including its
growing participation in t