Almost 1 million and 500 thousand hours donated to the environment around the world

In the ‘Greatest Earth Hour ever’, both nationally and internationally, the most common sustainable actions were related to fitness, arts, food and educational entertainment.

The Arraial in Lisbon had around 1000 visitors and a symbolic blackout led by Carlos Moedas. Across the country, lights were also turned off in emblematic spaces such as Castelo de São Jorge and Ponte do Freixo.

Last Saturday, the 23rd, Earth Hour — an initiative of the non-governmental organization World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) — was celebrated by millions of citizens in more than 180 countries and territories. Portugal, one of the 35 countries that joined in the 2nd edition (2008), also brought together thousands of people, municipalities, companies and organizations to turn off the lights in buildings and monuments and dedicate 60 minutes to effective combat activities. of climate change.

Worldwide, 1,473,145 thousand hours were donated to the environment — the ‘Greatest Earth Hour ever’ —, 41,242 thousand of which were donated on national territory. The most common actions taken to promote this reconnection with nature, globally, were related to fitness, arts, food and educational entertainment. The data comes from Hour Bank, an NGO’s online platform where each individual could record the time returned to Earth and the activities carried out throughout the 23rd.

As happens annually, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, was one of the voices that was heard at this time, stressing: “The need for change is urgent. The climate is collapsing and last year was the hottest ever. Earth Hour is a global show of solidarity to follow a different path and reveals the power we each have in the fight for our future.”

In addition to Guterres, many public figures were also associated with this great moment, such as American actress Kate Walsh, Kenyan Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, Colombian actor/influencer Sebastián Villalobos, Bollywood actress Ananya Panday, Chinese actor Zhu Yilong, former Cameroonian footballer Roger Milla and Olympic table tennis athlete Deng Yaping (…).

All over the world, including Portugal, thousands of awareness and nature conservation initiatives were organized, and the 92 participating municipalities in our country resulted in actions such as: stargazing, hiking, cycling, eco and bio markets, music concerts, percussion with urban cleaning employees, construction of sustainable lanterns, workshops with algae and plants (…).

In Lisbon, the official party, organized by ANP|WWF, took place at Mercado de Alvalade with a festival that included several sustainable activities — dance, yoga, 20 workshops, games, story reading, show-cooking, Selma Uamusse concert (… ) — to encourage citizens to change some habits, as small actions have a big impact on the environment.

The event was also attended by the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, who inaugurated, near the market, a mural — dedicated to sustainable food and the future of the Planet — created by urban artists Edis One (WWF ambassador) and Pariz One and painted, in part, in collaboration with the community.

The mayor also took part in the moment of the blackout, turning off a symbolic giant switch, together with the president of the Alvalade Parish Council, José Amaral Lopes, the founder and executive president of ANP|WWF, Ângela Morgado, the authors of the mural and all the children in the room, who, as Moedas indicated, “are the future of the country”.

“This initiative met our expectations, as in just five hours we had almost 1000 visitors (who donated 5338 hours) and all activities were well attended. At a national and global level, the numbers also prove that, once again, it was a success. This reveals that people are more aware of the seriousness of environmental problems and that global change also involves individual action”, guarantees Ângela Morgado.

11 companies and organizations also joined Earth Hour — namely El Corte Inglés, REN, Vulcano, Auchan, Zoo Santo Inácio, EGF, Procter&Gamble, Continente and the National Listening Corps —, which demonstrates a clear and effective commitment of these institutions to the urgent need to protect and preserve nature.

As in previous editions, in Portugal dozens of public buildings and monuments turned off their lights, such as Castelo de S. Jorge, Teatro Lu.Ca and Ponte 25 de Abril in Lisbon; Freixo Bridge and S. Bento Station, in Porto; Pax Júlia Theater in Beja; S. Gonçalo Bridge in Amarante; Palace of the Dukes of Bragança in Chaves; Monte da Penha and Monte Latito in Guimarães; Arco da Vila, in Faro; City of Sugar Museum in Madeira, Conceição and Sant’Ana Palaces, in the Azores, among others.

An initiative that was replicated all over the world, with numerous emblematic spaces remaining dark for an hour, namely: Sydney Opera House in Australia, Big Ben in London, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Coliseum and Vatican in Rome, Porta of India, Beijing National Stadium in China, Tokyo Tower, Niagara Falls, Faisal Mosque in Pakistan, Brandenburg in Berlin and the United Nations Headquarters and Empire State Building, both in New York.

Remember that Earth Hour 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, not with the aim of saving on energy bills, but as a warning about the effects of climate change. Today, it is the largest global movement to defend the environment, which will return in 2025, across the world, on Saturday, March 22nd.

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