Earth Hour 2016: Lights Off To Change Climate Change

A global blackout will take place on the third week of this month to shed light on climate change.

Earth Hour, spearheaded by environmental solutions-provider World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), is an annual global celebration where people switch off their lights for one hour to show their commitment to the future of the planet and stand in solidarity with climate action.

This year’s celebrations will be on Saturday, March 19, 2016 between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. in local time zone across the world.

It is the world’s largest grassroots movement for the planet with a record-breaking 172 countries and territories taking part in Earth Hour 2015, and about 10,400 participating landmarks.

More than just an impactful visual call-out, the lights-off campaign also incited on-the-ground projects for the planet.

WWF Uganda started the world’s first Earth Hour Forest.

Solar-powered lights were installed in three villages without electricity in India.

In Paraguay, WWF used the Earth Hour platform to build public support to gain an extension of the logging moratorium, helping to reduce deforestation.

Hundreds of thousands of LED lights were installed by girl scouts in the United States.

People-powered legislative changes arose in Russia and Argentina. More than 250,000 Russians voiced support for better protection of their country’s seas and forests.

Meanwhile, Argentina used its 2013 Earth Hour campaign to help pass a Senate bill for a 3.4-million hectare Marine Protected Area in the country.

In 2016, Earth Hour will continue to strengthen grassroots efforts to change climate change, including driving a petition for 100 percent renewable energy in Spain, protecting forests and biodiversity in Africa and helping devise a comprehensive solution to Southeast Asia’s persistent haze crisis by working with governments, businesses, and civil society simultaneously on peat land protection and sustainable palm oil.

This year marks Earth Hour’s 10th spectacular lights out event.

Switching off the lights in a span of an hour seems a simple deed, yet the overall effect can be massive with a powerful statement to change climate change. (PNA) SCS/FMC