Switching off the lights in your house for an hour – a simple idea that will bring millions of people together this year to celebrate what is known as Earth Hour.
The Earth Hour is an event organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), that will bring millions of people together to switch off the lights in their house for an hour, this 60-minute celebration of our planet will take place digitally in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earth Hour has been uniting people all over the world, in more than 180 countries, for the last 13 years.
The 27 th of March, communities and businesses will switch off their lights between 8:30 and 9:30 pm local time to show care and support for planet Earth.
“Whether it is a decline in pollinators, fewer fish in the ocean and rivers, disappearing forests or the wider loss of biodiversity, the evidence is mounting that nature is in free fall. And this is because of the way we live our lives and run our economies. Protecting nature is our moral
responsibility but losing it also increases our vulnerability to pandemics, accelerates climate
change, and threatens our food security,” said Marco Lambertini, Director General, WWF International.
Renowned public figures, celebrities, youth organisations and businesses from across the globe will be supporting Earth Hour to draw attention to the nature and climate crises. In recognition of the critical role young people will play in creating a more sustainable world, many global youth groups will be participating in Earth Hour calling for a safer, healthier future for all. In addition, many iconic landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, Tokyo Skytree, St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, the Colosseum in Rome and Niagara Falls, just to name some, will be switching off their lights in a symbolic gesture of support on the night of Earth Hour. That alone says how important this event is and why it has grown to become one of the world’s largest grassroots movements for the environment, inspiring individuals, communities, businesses and organizations. The aim is to create an unstoppable movement for nature, as it did when the world came together to tackle climate change. The movement recognizes the role of individuals in creating solutions to the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges and harnesses the collective power of its millions of supporters to drive change.
Alessandro Macaluso 3M
