Earth Hour promotes “Small Actions, Big Impact”
With Earth Hour just a month away, WWF is asking everyone globally to unite for the environment, dedicating an hour to sustainable activity and recording it in a Time Bank that will unite the world.
Earth Hour is known for the iconic switching off of lights in buildings and monuments and also of non-essential electronic devices carried out by millions of people around the world. But, since last year, the organization — WWF — has intended for this symbolic moment to evolve into a movement of effective action in favour of the environment.
When encouraging everyone to switch off and dedicate an hour to the planet, the executive director of the non-governmental organization in Portugal, Ângela Morgado, argues that “small actions can have a big impact when carried out by a large number of people”.
To encourage and record these actions and the time dedicated to a more sustainable planet, WWF created a Time Bank this year, in which each individual, company or municipality can access suggestions for sustainable activities, record their actions carried out throughout the day of Earth Hour — March 23 — and also indicate the number of hours dedicated to them.
This Hour Bank — which will be available in the coming weeks on the Earth Hour website — aims to count worldwide the number of hours dedicated to our only home, a testament to WWF’s mission to create the Greatest Hour on Earth.
For Ângela Morgado: “Earth Hour does not mean turning everything off and staying on the couch waiting for time to pass. The goal is to create a global movement that unites people to protect our common home. To this end, we will give ideas so that each person, in these 60 minutes, can disconnect from the accessory and reconnect with the environment, doing something for the planet that they enjoy and give them pleasure.”
And he adds: “We do not exempt governments and the private sector from doing their part, which is why we annually involve municipalities and companies in Earth Hour. We believe in creating a movement that unites everyone as a beacon of positivity, hope and inspiration. Time is running out, it is urgent to act now to stop global warming beyond a 1.5º increase, the loss of biodiversity and the collapse of ecosystems; but we need everyone to come together to achieve this goal.”
The Hours Bank was created in 2023 to count the real-time that participants in Earth Hour events dedicated to the topic, with 410,000 hours recorded worldwide. This year, the organization decided to extend the bank to all citizens, so that they can participate, wherever they are.
LOCAL EVENT IN LISBON
In Portugal, ANP|WWF teamed up with the Lisbon City Council and the Alvalade Parish Council to create an event that mobilizes people to carry out a series of small actions with great impact.
On March 23rd, starting at 4 pm, the Alvalade Market will host free workshops on Food, Fitness & Wellness, Nature, Arts and Creativity and Sustainability.
Throughout the day there will also be a graffiti workshop for children and lots of entertainment, culminating with the symbolic Earth Hour blackout — between 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm (local time) — and a semi-acoustic concert. The full program will be published in the coming weeks on the Earth Hour website.
About Earth Hour
Earth Hour is a historic WWF event, which began on March 31, 2007, in Sydney, Australia, when 2.2 million people and more than 2 thousand companies turned off their lights for 60 minutes as a warning about the loss of nature due to climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The success was such that millions of people around the world — individuals, companies, institutions and governments — quickly joined, representing today the largest global movement to defend the environment, with more than 190 countries and territories (90% of the planet) united through of a symbolic gesture and/or actions that make a difference and inspire.
Portugal was one of the countries that joined in 2008, having already turned off lights in spaces such as Castelo de S. Jorge, Ponte 25 de Abril, Cristo Rei and MAAT (Lisbon), Convento de São Francisco (Azores), Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar (Gaia), S. Bento Station, Arrábida Bridge and Freixo Bridge (Porto), Beja Castle, Sesimbra Castle and Nazaré Lighthouse, among others.
All over the world, every year other emblematic buildings and monuments also go dark for an hour, namely: the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome, the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Big Ben in London and the Empire State Building and United Nations headquarters, both in New York.
About ANP|WWF
WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature): globally, it is one of the largest and most respected independent conservation organizations on the planet, with more than 5 million supporters and a global network active in more than 120 countries. The mission of this institution is to stop environmental degradation and build a future in which human beings live in harmony with nature. All this through the conservation of biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable and promoting the reduction of pollution and waste. Despite having been present in Portugal for more than 20 years, collaborating on various projects, this organization only acquired legal personality in 2018, when the ANP|WWF was created. It currently has more than 30 members on its team.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and TikTok and see the exclusive content for social networks.
