On December 12, 2015, the world cheered as 195 nations signed a new international agreement towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient world. This pivotal moment at the Paris Climate Conference comes nearly ten years after the launch of Earth Hour, a movement born out of the need for raising awareness about climate change. From a token switch-off event in 2007, Earth Hour has grown to achieve global participation in over 172 countries, leading to positive environmental impact, including legislation changes by harnessing the power of the crowd.
With the realisation of its preliminary objective of initiating a conversation centering on climate change, in its tenth year, Earth Hour 2016 is a call for governments, organizations and people to move from discourse and discussion to concrete climate action. Earth Hour 2016 will be celebrated on Saturday, 19 March from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m, local time.
In India, the focus of the campaign this year is on the potential of solar energy as a viable and renewable source of power. Earth Hour is calling on citizens across the country to support not only the campaign by switching off non-essential lights for the hour, but also the government’s pledge to move toward renewable energy for a sustainable future. Blessed with approximately 300 clear sunny days, India has a capacity to harness 5,000 trillion kWh of energy per year – a lot more than the country’s total annual energy requirement. WWF-India’s Earth Hour campaign advocates a solar-powered future by urging its supporters to go solar.
The campaign is being endorsed this year by cricketer Shikhar Dhawan. Speaking about his association with the cause, Dhawan said, I believe climate change is the biggest global problem that we face today. It is a problem that we need to solve together. Like cricket, Earth Hour brings people together. I would urge people to come together and find newer, smarter ways to help save the planet. He also asked cricket fans all over the country to switch off all other non-essential lights for the hour and watch the historic India Pakistan T20 ICC World Cup match scheduled for 19 March in the dark and said, As we chase our dream of becoming World Champions again, we are counting on you to help us realize our dream of a greener planet! Let’s stand together against climate change.
Speaking about the campaign, Farida Tampal, State Director, Hyderabad, WWF-India said, Earth Hour has been drawing interest and support from all quarters, be it the governments, educational institutions, the media, the hotel industry or the Corporate. People from all walks of life have begun to identify with the message behind the Earth Hour and the wide range of celebrations that take place across both the states is amazing.
The campaign has received a lot of support from various corners of the country, over the years and its messaging and open-source model encourages participation in a symbolic switch off and leads people to adopt sustainable practices in order to conserve the finite resources of our planet. This year, Earth Hour will reach out to people to promote the benefits of solar energy, encouraging everyone to switch off for an hour and make a switch to solar energy through rooftop solar solutions.
2016, The New Indian Express