Every year since 2007, millions of people around the world have come together in late March for Earth Hour, switching off the lights for one hour to show their symbolic commitment to our planet. Known as the “lights off” hour in Hong Kong, Earth Hour, organised by WWF, is the world’s largest collective environmental movement. Earth Hour aims to urge every individual to live a sustainable lifestyle and make positive impacts on the environment. Last year, nearly 4,000 companies, organisations and buildings in Hong Kong supported Earth Hour.
Climate change, over-consumption, pollution, and the destruction of nature are pushing the world close to a number of environmental tipping points. These factors are putting our planet on course to breach the 1.5°C temperature increase limit set by the Paris Agreement by 2030. In Hong Kong, the risks posed by a warming climate include extreme weather and flooding – to avoid these risks, along with irreversible damage to our planet and unprecedented danger to all species, we must stay under the 1.5°C climate warming threshold and reverse nature losses within the next six years.
With this 2030 goal in mind, this year, we are breathing new life into Earth Hour to create the Biggest Hour for Earth. We invite everyone to switch off non-essential lights and give an hour for Earth. Spend these 60 minutes wisely and do the things you love to protect our one shared home – reading the latest environmental news, watching an educational video to learn more about our planet, or listening to a nature-focused podcast. And make this low-carbon lifestyle last beyond the hour. Everything we do matters to the Earth!
