Lights went out at landmarks across New Zealand on Saturday as the 20th edition of Earth Hour began.
Originating in Australia in 2006, Earth Hour asks people and institutions to switch off their lights for one evening hour to highlight climate change.
Participants range from private homes and businesses to major global landmarks. Among the first to go dark at 8:30 p.m. local time were Auckland’s Sky Tower and New Zealand’s parliament building in Wellington. Other scheduled darkened monuments include the Sydney Opera House, Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate and New York’s Empire State Building.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which organizes Earth Hour, said more than 3 million hours were pledged across 118 countries and territories last year. The organization maintains the event remains highly relevant two decades on.
“Currently, the climate crisis is repeatedly pushed into the background in light of the many global challenges. However, it doesn’t disappear. On the contrary, it exacerbates many of these crises,” said Viviane Raddatz, head of climate at WWF Germany. “With Earth Hour, we are bringing climate action back into the public spotlight. We are making it visible. People care about this issue and it belongs at the very top of the political agenda.”
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko