SINGAPORE - 24 March 2022 – Earth Hour, the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment, is set to unite millions of people around the world to show solidarity for both people and planet. Taking place at a particularly crucial moment in time, this year’s event invites people around the globe to unite in a moment of reflection on our relationship with each other and our collective home.

 

From the Sydney Opera House where Earth Hour began in 2007, through the Gateway of India, Beijing Phoenix Center in China, Brandenburg Gate in Germany, the Colosseum in Italy, Empire State Building in the USA and the Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, a host of global landmarks will take part in the symbolic switch off moment which this year seeks to communicate a safer, fairer and more sustainable future for everyone.

 

Marco Lambertini, Director General, WWF International, said,

“Earth Hour 2022 calls for the world to unite in a moment of solidarity for people and planet. We know that alongside the many challenges we face, especially in these unprecedented times, 2022 remains to be a critical year for the Planet, our shared home. This year the world will come together to agree on a Paris-style agreement for nature, and this presents a once in a decade opportunity for leaders to agree on a plan to reverse nature loss by 2030 and build a nature-positive future.

“We also know that in order to build a future in harmony with nature we also need peace amongst people. Which is why this year’s Earth Hour offers a moment of solidarity with all peoples suffering from wars and conflicts around the world; a chance for our global community to express what matters to them, to take positive action and to call for a world where people and planet are able to thrive together

 

More than 190 countries and territories are expected to stand in solidarity on 26 March for people and planet this year:

  • Greece will highlight the important role food plays in creating community and identity, as well offering information on creating sustainable diets and food production practices.
  • South Africa will focus on the upcoming UN CBD COP15 and centre their campaign around securing petition signatures to help ‘Shape Our Future’.
  • Tanzania aims to help every student from Primary to University level to plant and nurture a tree until they leave their school or university. The campaign hopes to plant more than 14 million trees during its implementation and will launch on International Forest Day on 21st March.
  • India will commemorate their 75th year of independence and recognise the efforts of ‘75 Heroes of Conservation’, sharing the inspirational stories of how these individuals have helped ‘Shape Our Future’.
  • The UK will urge people to participate in the switch-off moment and download the My Footprint app which will allow them to calculate the effects of their lifestyle on the planet and what they can do in their everyday lives to reduce their footprint.

Alongside the global activations, each year influential ambassadors and changemakers rally to support the movement. Earth Hour 2022 supporters include: Chinese supermodel Liu Wen, Dutch physician and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut André Kuipers, Indian actress and playback singer Shruti Haasan, Colombian model and presenter Claudia Bahamón, Cantopop singer Kay Tse, Indonesian musician  Kafin Sulthan Reviera, Chinese actress Dilraba Dilmurat and Greek chef Giorgos Tsoulis.


For more information, visit  www.earthhour.org to find out what is happening at Earth Hour in locations around the world.

 

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Notes to Editors:

 

For more information, please contact media@earthhour.org

 

Assets and links

 

Hashtags: #EarthHour #Connect2Earth

 

About Earth Hour

Earth Hour is WWF's flagship global environmental movement. Born in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour has grown to become the world's largest grassroots movement for the environment, inspiring individuals, communities, businesses and organisations in more than 190 countries and territories to take tangible environmental action. 

Historically, Earth Hour has focused on the climate crisis, but more recently, Earth Hour has strived to address a range of concerns facing people and planet. 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.

Since its inception in 2007, Earth Hour has inspired global initiatives for the protection of nature, climate, and the environment, helping drive awareness, action and policy change. Highlights of the movement include helping in the creation of a 3.4 million hectare protected marine area in Argentina, a 2,700-hectare Earth Hour forest in Uganda, pushing for a ban on single-use plastics and Styrofoam products in the Ecuadorian capital, and initiating the planting of 20,000 mangrove seedlings in 13 cities in Indonesia.

Earth Hour is kindly supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety with funding from the International Climate Initiative (IKI), as a part of the project “Scaling up Biodiversity Communication”.

About WWF

WWF is an independent conservation organisation, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. Visit www.panda.org/news for the latest news and media resources and follow us on Twitter @WWF_media