• The world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment, Earth Hour, will this year create The Biggest Hour for Earth, with more people than ever set to Give an Hour for Earth.

  • Global superstars are expected to take part, including Malaysian singer-songwriter Zee Avi, Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach, and German musician Peter Schilling. South Korea’s Choi Si Won, from boy band Super Junior is also expected to show his support for Earth Hour 2023.

  • Landmarks across the world are also expected to take part in Earth Hour’s iconic switch off moment, including the Sydney Opera House, China's Zhouzhuang in Kunshan and the Beijing National Speed Skating Hall, Taipei 101, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, and Christ the Redeemer.

 

From 08:30 pm local time on 25th of March, WWF’s Earth Hour, the world’s largest grassroots environmental movement, is this year set to create the ‘Biggest Hour for Earth’ yet. Across 190 countries and territories, more individuals, businesses and communities than ever are expected to come together in a powerful moment of unity to celebrate the planet and ‘Give an Hour for Earth’, spending 60 minutes doing something positive for our planet. 


Global landmarks across the world are expected to take part in Earth Hour’s iconic switch off moment, including the Sydney Opera House, China's Zhouzhuang in Kunshan and the Beijing National Speed Skating Hall, Taipei 101, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, and Christ the Redeemer. For the first time in its incredible 17-year history, this year’s Earth Hour will also encourage people around the globe to ‘switch off’ themselves by taking a break from their routine and everyday distractions, and deciding for themselves what they can do to restore our one home.  


Millions of supporters are already gearing up to celebrate this year’s Earth Hour, with many set to take part in beach cleanups, tree planting and a variety of exciting events taking place across the world. Other events taking place include:

 

  • WWF Jamaica is hosting a free live Reggae music concert to inspire Jamaicans to take climate action. Taking place at the Hope Royal Botanic Gardens from 6pm to 10pm EST, supporters will have the chance to experience a number of exciting performances while participating in Earth Hour, amidst Earth Hour’s iconic ‘switch off’ moment.

  • WWF Cyprus plans to combine the global campaign with their new local campaign called "Zero Food Waste". The conference will include presentations about Cypriot agriculture from local farmers, interactive workshops for adults and kids about compost, and screenings. The event will end with performances from local bands with the main purpose of the event being the lights being turned off for an hour.

  • WWF Mongolia will focus on the concept of sustainable consumption, concentrating on sustainable fashion/fast fashion. On the day of Earth Hour, WWF Mongolia will hold a sustainable fashion show with local fashion designers while engaging communities and individuals from across Mongolia. 

  • WWF Paraguay is planning a series of critical activities that promote plastic recycling and responsible consumption. A run/walk event will take place on the 26th March, where participants will be awarded with a unique medal made from 100% recycled plastic. More than 3,300 plastic bottle caps were used in the production of these medals. 

 

Many of the world’s most influential ambassadors and changemakers are also set to take part in the Biggest Hour for Earth yet. Earth Hour 2023 supporters already confirmed to give an Hour for Earth include: Malaysian singer-songwriter Zee Avi, Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach, German musician Peter Schilling, Indonesian Mayor of Surakarta Gibran Rakabuming Raka. South Korea’s Choi Si Won, from boy band Super Junior is also expected to show his support for Earth Hour 2023.


WWF will bank as many planet positive pledges as possible, as part of an innovative ‘Hour Bank’. This provides different options on how to pledge an hour in what WWF expects to be the biggest Earth Hour yet. The organisation aims to amass seven years’ worth of hours - mirroring the time we have left to take action to secure a nature positive world for the sake of people and planet. Already the Hour Bank has received thousands of pledges from people in more than 70 countries, including: Argentina, Suriname, Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Bulgaria, France, Jamaica, Nepal, Romania, China and Bulgaria.


Dr Kirsten Schuijt, Director General, WWF International:  “Earth Hour is a fantastic celebration of people, planet and nature. This year we want to create the Biggest Hour for Earth yet! We’re asking everyone to “switch off” - their lights or their daily habits - and spend 60 minutes doing something for the planet instead. Together, we can turn a single Earth Hour into millions of hours of inspiration, inviting millions of people to act, and making millions more take notice. Our one shared home needs our help and we can ALL play a part in protecting it.”


Meanwhile, Mr Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General, the United Nations: “On Earth Hour every year, millions of people in hundreds of cities around the world turn off the lights. It's a call to action to make peace with nature, massively increase climate action and save our planet. And it is a reminder that all of us can play our part in large ways and small, to protect our common home and safeguard our future. Every minute and every hour counts. I invite you to switch off your lights on March 25 at 8:30pm local time. From the darkness let us build a brighter and more sustainable future for everyone, everywhere.”


Sharon Ringo, Climate Youth Activist from the Sharon Ringo Foundation in Tanzania,and East Africa Commission Trade and Tourism Ambassador said: “Earth Hour resonates with my values of being responsible for nature. It’s vital for me to ensure a green and Great Mother Earth for all generations. I’m inspired to support the movement because I see the impact it has on individuals all over the world - with my 10 million tree planting project adding impacts. Earth Hour is important because it allows us to work towards achieving better resources for nature. Tourism and agriculture are the backbones of Tanzania’s economy and they’re also nature-based, so if we don’t stop climate change - these sectors will collapse. I believe in the power of unity and that the climate crisis is a matter of urgency.”


This year’s Earth Hour comes hot on the heels of the historic Kunming-Montreal Agreement at COP15, which in December last year committed the world to halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030. WWF warns that alarming and unprecedented rates of nature loss are putting species at risk of extinction, with increasing numbers of individuals and families in communities across the world set to lose their homes and access to basic necessities like food, clean water and a livable environment. Last year’s WWF’s latest Living Planet report highlighted that one million species are now threatened with extinction and global wildlife populations have declined by a staggering 69% since 1970. At the same time, WWF is warning that time is running out to tackle the climate crisis, with the planet on track to breach the 1.5°C limit at the latest by the early 2030s, risking global destabilisation and irreversible environmental degradation.


Earth Hour is therefore more important than ever, for ensuring that 2023 is the year of change needed to reach that crucial 2030 nature positive goal. With more people than ever expected to take part in this year’s iconic event, WWF’s Earth Hour 2023 will serve as a powerful reminder of the need to work together to secure a brighter future for people and the planet. 

 

-Ends-

 

Notes to editors:

For more information, please contact: news@wwfint.org

 

Supporting assets

 

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 movements for the environment, inspiring individuals, communities, businesses and organizations 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 also bring the pressing issue of nature loss to the fore. 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. Visit www.earthhour.org to find out about Earth Hour events around the world. Together, let’s create the Biggest Hour for Earth.

 

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.