Skylines to dim as world celebrates a decade of climate action with Earth Hour | WPN World People News

On Saturday 25 March 8:30 p.m. local time, skylines around the globe will go dark as millions unite to celebrate WWF’s Earth Hour and shine a light on climate action.

Second from left: Dasho Paljor J. Dorji, the Special Advisor to the National Environment Commission inaugurates the Earth Hour Garden.

From the Eiffel Tower to Taipei 101 and the Empire State Building to the Acropolis thousands of landmarks will switch off their lights in solidarity as individuals, communities and organizations worldwide deliver on their potential to help change climate change, the planet’s biggest environmental challenge yet.

View of Central Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong After lights out, Earth Hour 2010

2017 marks the tenth anniversary of Earth Hour which started as a symbolic event in Sydney in 2007. Today, it is the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment, ensuring that people who are on the frontlines of climate change, are also empowered to be the planet’s first line of defense.

Earth Hour 2011 in Odessa (Ukraine)

“We started Earth Hour to make a statement. Never did we imagine that we would be writing a dramatic new story for climate action where each individual can help turn the page toward a sustainable, climate-resilient future for all,” said Siddarth Das, Executive Director, Earth Hour Global. “In ten years, Earth Hour has helped protect seas in Russia and Argentina, raised funds for conservation projects in Southeast Asia and the Amazon and even created a forest in Uganda and none of this would have been possible without the force that binds us all together – our collective determination to protect the one planet we all share.”

Building on the impact it has created in the last decade, in 2017, Earth Hour supporters in Spain and the UK are urging the government to deliver strong climate action and meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement. In Hungary and Uganda, people are encouraging communities and organizations to shift to renewable energy while in Cambodia, Greece and Colombia, people are coming together to act toward sustainable lifestyles.

In Australia, the birthplace of the movement, WWF is using Earth Hour to spread awareness on renewable energy among the youth while also inviting supporters who switch off the lights to donate toward solar lighting in rural communities in Ethiopia. Similarly, people in Singapore, Indonesia, India and Hong Kong are teaming up as ‘Earth Hour Buddies’ to help protect forests and oceans and promote sustainable living.

“Climate change is visible proof that our actions can have a ripple effect beyond physical borders. It is up to each of us to ensure the impact we create helps instead to improve the lives of those around us and elsewhere, at present and in the future,” added Das.

To inspire more people to act, this year the Earth Hour movement is also inviting supporters to show their commitment to the cause on their Facebook timelines, in parallel to the lights out rolling across skylines. People around the world can log onto earthhour.org/climateaction to donate five Facebook posts to Earth Hour and encourage their friends to be a part of local climate efforts. They can also use a new Facebook profile picture frame available on www.facebook.com/earthhour to celebrate Earth Hour on their own personal landmark- their Facebook page.

“The world’s eleventh Earth Hour comes at the eleventh hour for the planet. Whether it is the flick of a switch or a click online, we urge people around the world to take a stand for climate action,” said Das.

Earth Hour will take place on Saturday 25 March 2017 at 8:30 p.m. local time. This is our time to change climate change.

Source: World Wildlife Fund