The United Nations Environment Program hosts a World Environment Day (WED) on June 5th of each year to bring attention to environmental sustainability.
Each year the global event is hosted by a specific country that is at the forefront of environmental innovation. WED 2014 was hosted by the small Caribbean island state of Barbados, a country leading the way in solar energy.
The theme this year was small island developing nations, a particularly important subject since these small island nations contribute next to nothing in greenhouse gas emissions yet stand to lose nearly everything as sea levels rise and climate change causes more severe weather events. Barbados and other small island countries have to work hard to adapt to the increasingly unstable climate.
WED 2014 focused specifically on ecotourism, renewable energy, solar technical training, sustainable fishing practices, water conservation, and coastline stabilization.
