This is an article of notable issues relating to the terrestrial
environment
Environment most often refers to:
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* Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally
* Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
of
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
in
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
. They relate to environmental events such as natural disasters,
environmental sciences
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geo ...
such as
ecology
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
and
geoscience
Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...
with a known relevance to contemporary influence of humanity on Earth,
environmental law
Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the manage ...
,
conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...
,
environmentalism
Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...
with major worldwide impact and
environmental issue
Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on th ...
s.
Events
Environmental policies approved
* 5 February – Australia's Northern Territory bans
seabed mining
Seabed mining, also known as Seafloor mining is the recovery of minerals from the seabed by techniques of underwater mining. The concept includes mining at shallow depths on the continental shelf and deep-sea mining at greater depths associated w ...
in its coastal waters.
Environmental disasters
Pollution events
Environmental sciences
Geosciences, biotechnology, anthropology and geoengineering
Predicted and scheduled events
* 1–12 November –
2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference
The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP26, was the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, held at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, from 31 October to 13 November 2021. The ...
International goals
A list of − mostly self-imposed and
legally
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
voluntary or
unenforceable
An unenforceable contract or transaction is one that is valid but one the court will not enforce. Unenforceable is usually used in contradiction to void (or ''void ab initio'') and voidable. If the parties perform the agreement, it will be valid, ...
− goals related to the environment and/or environmental sciences due by or established in 2021 as
decided by multinational corporate associations or international
governance
Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, social norm, norms, power (social and political), power or language of an organized society over a social system (family, tribe, formal organization, formal or informal organization, a ...
entities and their status:
;Result reports
A session of the
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
decided that the theme and
Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...
discussed at the 2021 High-level Political Forum will be "Sustainable and resilient recovery from the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
that promotes the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development: building an inclusive and effective path for the achievement of the
2030 Agenda
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...
in the context of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development".
Goal-oriented coordination
Governmental budgets
* 22 April – Brazil's political leader,
Jair Bolsonaro
Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He was elected in 2018 as a member of the Social Liberal Party, which he turn ...
, or his leadership apparatus decides to cut the government's annual environmental budget by 23 % compared to the previous year, making it the lowest in the history of the nation since the 1990s and reducing means to
protect the Amazon rainforest.
* 3 May – It is announced that Germany will spend an additional 5 billion euros to reduce emissions from the
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
industry and will finance steelmakers'
hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...
production projects.
See also
General
*
2020s in environmental history
This is an environmental history of the 2020s. Environmental history refers to events and trends related to the natural environment and human interactions with it. Examples of human-induced events include biodiversity loss, climate change and holo ...
*
2021 in climate change
This article documents notable events, research findings, effects, and responses related to global warming and climate change during the year 2021.
Summaries
* 26 February: The United Nations Synthesis Report on '' Nationally Determined Contri ...
*
Green recovery
*
2021 in space
*
List of environmental issues
*
Outline of environmental studies
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to environmental studies:
Environmental studies –
Fields of study
* Aquatic and environmental engineering
* Biomimetics (Biomimicry)
* Climatology
* Conservation bio ...
Natural environment
*
List of large volcanic eruptions in the 21st century
*
Lists of extinct animals#Recent extinction
*
:Species described in 2021
*
:Protected areas established in 2021
Artificial development
*
Timeline of sustainable energy research 2020–present
*
2021 in rail transport
Events January
* January 4 – The Island Line, Isle of Wight temporarily closes for renovations and British Rail Class 483, Class 483 units are withdrawn from service. The cars originally operated on the London Underground starting in 193 ...
*
Human impact on the environment
Human impact on the environment (or anthropogenic impact) refers to changes to biophysical environments and to ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources caused directly or indirectly by humans. Modifying the environment to fit the need ...
References
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