Every year on 23^rd March the world celebrates Earth Hour Day. It is an annual event organized by the World Wildlife Fund to raise awareness about the many environmental issues impacting on our natural habitat. This year marks the 18th edition of Earth Hour, with the theme “Biggest Hour for Earth.” The event encourages people around the world, communities and businesses to turn off their lights for 60 minutes from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. as a gesture of support for our planet which is slowly dying. This symbolic act also aims to inspire action towards a more sustainable future.

The purpose behind observing Earth Hour is to rally people around the globe to come together to express their solidarity for the environment which is facing multiple threats. The aim is to engage as many people as possible, especially those who may not yet be fully aware of the environmental crisis facing humanity. Like in previous years, Earth Hour in 2024 saw participation from over 190 countries and territories, with millions of people contributing their time to support the cause. This year, the goal is to make the #BiggestHourForEarth even bigger by encouraging individuals to spend the hour doing something positive for the planet.

While switching off lights is a powerful symbol, in its wider meaning Earth Hour is a movement that goes beyond that one hour. It serves as a platform to inspire and mobilize individuals to take action throughout the year. The WWF encourages participants to spend the hour doing activities that benefit the planet, such as planting saplings and organizing seminars on environmental issues.

Since 2007, Earth Hour has been known for the “lights off” moment. More than ever before, the world is at a tipping point with the climate and nature crises increasingly assuming dangerous proportions, putting at risk the fate and future of planet earth. The world is on course to breach by 2030 the 1.5°C global temperature increase limit set by the Paris Climate Agreement. And nature – the source of our very livelihoods and one of our biggest allies against the climate crisis – is also under severe threat, facing alarming and unprecedented rates of loss of biodiversity globally.

According to experts, the next seven years are crucial to our future. We have to stay under the 1.5°C climate threshold to avoid irreversible damage to our planet, and we need to reverse nature loss by 2030, ending the decade with more nature than we started, not less.  To make this happen, individuals, communities, businesses, and governments around the world  must all urgently step up their efforts to protect and restore our only home in the vast universe.
With the 2030 goal in mind, all countries, communities, corporations and individuals need to do more to breathe new life into Earth Hour. The idea is to do something to make the earth a greener place like planting a tree and controlling the level of toxic emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. Amidst our increasingly divided and de-natured societies, the Biggest Hour for Earth becomes a precious moment of unity, reminding the world that our one shared home needs our help and that we all must play a part in protecting it.

Earth Hour is not just a symbol but a call for action to save the earth from the incremental destruction it has been undergoing for years. Instead, we need to move towards a world where our climate is stable, nature thrives, and where all people live with good health, happiness, and prosperity. This future can still be a reality, provided we act now.

The present pace of destruction of our environment is horrifying. Unless we change things, we are on track to breach the 1.5°C temperature increase limit set by the Paris Agreement by 2030. Human activities are currently also destroying nature at a rate much faster than it can replenish itself, and unless we reverse the loss of nature by the end of the decade, all species – including us – will face grave and unprecedented danger. The COVID-19 pandemic was a warning sign that the loss of nature is destabilizing society, and we stand to lose even more – our homes and access to basic necessities like food, clean water and a livable environment – if we do not mend our ways.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of our daily lives where it can be easy to overlook the climate and nature crises we are facing, Earth Hour has a special importance. It is a global reminder of the dangers facing our planet and the need to protect it. Earth Hour is a beacon of hope for a better future for our planet, harnessing the power of the people towards a greener environment.