WWF 10 Dec 08;
Poznan, Poland - Dozens of events around the world today marked the launch of the campaign for Earth Hour 2009, a global climate event for which 74 cities in 62 countries have already committed to switch off their lights at 8:30pm on March 28.
The Earth Hour 2009 campaign aims to have more than one billion people in 1,000 cities turn off lights for one hour in a graphic demonstration of support for determined international action on climate change.
A key event is scheduled for Poznan, Poland where world nations are currently meeting under the banner of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They are charged with thrashing out a new international climate change agreement which needs to be signed off at next December’s UNFCCC summit.
“When leaders gather in Copenhagen to negotiate a new global deal on climate, they must feel that the eyes of the world are upon them,” said James Leape, Director General of WWF International. “Earth Hour provides an opportunity for the public to send a powerful signal that that they are watching and that they expect action.”
Cities already listed to participate in Earth Hour 2009 include Cape Town, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Las Vegas, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Manila, Mexico City, Moscow, Nashville, Oslo, Rome, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto, and Warsaw.
Some of the international icons which will go dark for an hour in solidarity include the world’s tallest hotel tower (the Burj Dubaiin Dubai), the tallest towers in the Americas (the CN tower in Toronto) and the southern hemisphere (the Sky Tower in Auckland) and Moscow’s Federation Tower. Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf has confirmed his support for Earth Hour while Quirinale - the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano – will also turn its lights off. Other landmarks which plan to merge into the night sky include the normally floodlit Table Mountain over Cape Town, South Africa and the Sydney Opera House.
“The global economic meltdown has demonstrated that the world can unite and take action in times of crisis,” said Kim Carstensen, who leads WWF’s Global Climate Initiative. “That same decisive, multilateral approach is needed as we face the rapidly escalating climate crisis. Turning 'off' for Earth Hour sends a powerful message to our leaders that they must do what’s necessary to secure the future of the Earth.”
Many organizations around the world announced their support for Earth Hour, including the C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group.
“The C40 Climate Leadership Group is about cities working together to drive down greenhouse gas emissions and that is why as Chair of the C40 I support Earth Hour,” said Toronto Mayor David Miller. “It's crucial that cities and the public come together to take action against climate change and Earth Hour provides a great platform to do that.”
Malaysian Prime Minister Endorses Global Effort: WWF’s Earth Hour
WWF Malaysia 10 Dec 08;
Kuala Lumpur - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi indicated his support and endorsement of Malaysia’s participation in Earth Hour 2009. To date, 74 cities in 62 countries have committed to switch off for WWF’s Earth Hour in 2009. WWF-Malaysia is currently discussing the potential participation of Malaysian cities in Earth Hour 2009 with relevant authorities. The campaign, which hopes to reach out to more than one billion people in 1,000 cities around the world, asks individuals, businesses and governments to switch off lights for just one hour on Saturday, 28th March 2009 at 8:30pm to create a platform of support for action on climate change.
Earth Hour aims to demonstrate unprecedented solidarity and provide a visual global mandate that will put the heat on world leaders meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009 to strike a new global deal on climate change.
The lights out initiative, which began in Sydney in 2007 as a public awareness raising campaign, has grown significantly over the past two years and now has 74 cities ready to flick the switch in 2009. Cities already committed include Los Angeles, Las Vegas, London, Hong Kong, Sydney, Rome, Manila, Oslo, Cape Town, Warsaw, Lisbon, Singapore, Istanbul, Mexico City, Toronto, Dubai and Copenhagen.
Some of the international icons which will go dark for an hour in solidarity include the world’s tallest hotel tower (the Burj Dubaiin Dubai), the tallest towers in the Americas (the CN tower in Toronto) and the southern hemisphere (the Sky Tower in Auckland) and Moscow’s Federation Tower. Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf has confirmed his support for Earth Hour while Quirinale - the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano – will also turn its lights off. Other landmarks which plan to merge into the night sky include the normally floodlit Table Mountain over Cape Town, South Africa and the Sydney Opera House.
Director General of WWF International Jim Leape said, “When leaders gather in Copenhagen in December 2009 to negotiate a new deal on climate they must feel that the eyes of the world are upon them. Earth Hour provides an opportunity for the public to send a powerful signal that they are watching and expect action.”
Executive Director of Earth Hour Global, Mr Andy Ridley said 2009 was the planet’s ‘destiny year’, with critical decisions needed to be made at the Copenhagen meeting on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, “2009 is the year we decide the future of the earth. It is the year the world finally agrees on a plan to massively reduce carbon emissions across the globe. This is the time to invest in new ways of doing business in a new low carbon economy. We must all step over the line together. The sum of our actions today can change history and secure the future of our planet.”
The extensive WWF conservation network also has more than 30 teams working in countries such as Malaysia, Brazil, Greece, India, Peru, Spain, Switzerland and France, ready to support a local Earth Hour roll out.
If you would like to pledge your support of Earth Hour log on to www.earthhour.org and sign up. If your company would like to participate in Earth Hour, please call WWF-Malaysia at tel: 78033772 or e-mail: ARaj@wwf.org.my. WWF-Malaysia sincerely thanks our Earth Hour partner, Leo Burnett Malaysia, for their generous support.
For more information on Earth Hour, please click here
About Earth Hour:
Earth Hour is a global WWF climate change initiative. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday March 28, 2009 at 8:30 PM to show their support for action on climate change. The event began in Sydney in 2007, when 2 million people switched off their lights. In 2008, more than 50 million people around the globe participated. In 2009, Earth Hour aims to reach out to 1 billion people in 1,000 cities
