WORLD Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is celebrating Earth Hour this Saturday night.
Earth Hour is the WWF’s international movement uniting people in more than 180 countries in raising awareness for the issues of a warming climate and loss of biodiversity.
Across the world on Saturday March 24, people will switch off their lights for one hour, from 8.30pm to 9.30pm local time.
Earth Hour started back in Sydney over a decade ago in 2007, and has grown into one of the world’s largest environmental movements, recognising that we can all take small actions that can help to reduce our individual impact on the environment.
In 2018, WWF and Earth Hour teams around the world will be using the movement to highlight the environmental issues most relevant in their country or region.
In Colombia, people will call for the country to commit to zero deforestation by 2020.
French Polynesia is expected to move to protect 5 million square kilometres of its seas to preserve ocean ecosystems.
In Guatemala, citizens will raise their voice on the importance of freshwater conservation and in India, people will pledge to shift toward sustainable lifestyles.
In Nepal, WWF will build public support for a clean, renewable energy future for all.
In Solomon Islands, we advocate for sustainable coastal communities. We work closely with communities in Western province to help them manage and protect their coral reef systems and fish stocks, so they don’t disappear in the years to come.
This is a tough goal, as overfishing is a problem, but climate change is another major problem with massive impacts on coral reefs, sea temperatures and sea levels.
With one scientist at the Pacific Climate Change Convention estimating sea levels could rise by up to 2 metres by the year 2100, it is clear that climate change will greatly affect communities across the Solomons. But what can we do about it?
Burning coal or diesel to generate electricity is one of the greatest sources of emissions leading to rising world temperatures.
While most emissions come from more developed countries such as the USA, Australia and China, we can still reduce the amount of energy we use, and contribute to the change we want to see in the world.
If you would like to join with WWF and the countries, organisations and individuals across the world saying “no” to energy and electricity for one hour, please turn off your lights this Saturday night at 8.30pm. You’ll be joining a global movement to raise awareness for the world’s environment.
–WWF PRESS
