The world once again celebrated the largest voluntary action for the environment as the lights switch off for Earth Hour today.
The world went ‘dark’ for one hour that seeks to raise awareness on the need to take action on climate change.
Reports say hundreds of landmarks around the world, including Washington’s National Cathedral, Big Ben in London, the Great Wall of China and Tokyo Tower turned off the lights.
n Hong Kong, buildings also went dark along the Victoria Harbour. To name others, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, and St. Paul’s Cathedral also went dark.
Other countries particularly Libya, Algeria, Bhutan and French Guinea are among those participating for the first time.
In addition, the United Nations today turned off the lights for one hour at its Headquarters in New York and other facilities around the world in observance of “Earth Hour.”
“Earth Hour” is an annual global event that calls for all states to take action to counter climate change.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the UN was turning off its lights “in solidarity with men, women and children – 20 per cent of all humankind – who live with no access to electricity.”
Mr. Ban calls Earth Hour “a symbol of our commitment to sustainable energy for all.”
He underscores the need to “fuel our future with clean, efficient and affordable energy.”
Earth Hour was launched in 2007 in Australia by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It aims to call for people, organizations and cities to turn off their non-essential light for one hour starting at 8:30 p.m. local time.
This is the third year that the UN joins hundreds of millions of people around the world in switching off the lights.
Earth Hour has grown from a one-city initiative in 2007, to a 5,251 city strong global movement, last year reaching 1.8 billion people in 135 countries across all seven continents.
Reports say dubbed the “World’s largest campaign for the planet,” Earth Hour has grown in five short years from a local event in Sydney, Australia, to a global phenomenon that attracted 150 countries, over 6494 cities and global participants from all seven continents in 2012.