earth hour 2022

A worldwide movement organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Earth Hour annual event encourages individuals, communities, and businesses to turn off all non-essential electric lights on March 27 for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local time, to symbolize their commitment to the planet.

©Earth Hour Macedonia 2020

Earth Hour isn't just a symbolic movement - it's a catalyst for real change. Tracking major milestones and wins over the years though we believe it is too little and not enough.

It all began on Saturday, 31 March 2007. The world’s first Earth Hour in Sydney, Australia, saw more than 2.2 million people turn off their lights for one hour to show a climate-sceptic government that people were concerned about climate change. 

Last year, while still facing COVID-19 restrictions in many countries, people in a record-breaking 192 countries and territories united digitally to speak up for nature louder than ever. The first-ever Earth Hour Virtual Spotlight highlighted the connection between nature loss, climate change and the rise of pandemics.

The need for humans to do more for the earth and living things and the little that we have managed to achieve towards critical goals may feel for most like the difference between the Trump presidency and the Biden administration. 

The latter is so much better than our past four years of mayhem at the mercy of a flailing temperamental incompetent - that we may actually be lulled into believing we are improving - even if only in picayune increments, the relief is still great and real. 

Unfortunately, neither are not enough. Earth Hour may allow us to sleep better at night, deluding ourselves that we did our bit. But much like tracking our carbon footprint or recycling, they hardly chip into solving the real problem we face. 

Yes, we celebrate the effort and awareness of growing participants - kudos to many more. We still need to do so much more to turn the tide. Time for minimal and passive participation is long over.