2010 marks the fortieth year of the celebration of Earth Day, and though individuals are more aware of the value of our natural environment, the world today still faces great environmental challenges. The global phenomenon known as climate change is the single greatest environmental challenge of our time, and while addressing this seems daunting, it also presents a great opportunity for the global community to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future. To this end, internationally, Earth Day 2010 is being used as a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. At the national level, the Ministry of Planning, Housing and the Environment, through the Environmental Policy and Planning Division has been spearheading the formulation of a national climate change policy. This Policy is guided by the vision that, Trinidad and Tobago as a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and responsible member of the international community, as an industrializing country, and aspiring to attaining developed country status by the year 2020, is committed to pursuing a low-carbon development path, consistent with the principles of sustainable development through the development and delivery of strategies and actions for maximizing renewable energy resources, clean energy and clean production technology, as well as adapting to the adverse impacts of climate change through integration within all aspects of national development in its infrastructural, human and socio-economic systems, at an acceptable balance of costs and benefits. In addition, from a mitigation point of view to increase the area of forests which can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the Ministry of Planning, Housing and the Environment together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources is also spearheading the formulation of the Forest Policy and Protected Areas Policy.

With regard to these policies, a series of national consultations are currently being conducted with the intention of getting stakeholders involved in the formulation and finalization of the policies. It is hoped that these policies will be the roadmap to guide this country to become more climate friendly at all levels of society, and will ensure that this country engages in activities that will lead to the overall mitigation of green house gases which influence the change of the earth’s climate. As we celebrate Earth Day this year, every citizen should review their own carbon footprint and seek ways to reduce this footprint through simple yet necessary energy efficient actions that can help contribute to making earth a greener, healthier place not for just ourselves but for our children.