Earth Hour is a global citizen movement of positive change for the environment, which was celebrated on Saturday, 25 March for one hour; from 08:30 to 09:30. People were encouraged to switch off their lights as a symbolic gesture of unity. It is a global citizen movement of positive change for the environment.
More than 3 000 landmarks switched off their lights and millions of individuals, businesses and organisations across seven continents stepped forward to change climate change. Online, #EarthHour and related terms generated over 1.1-billion impressions in 24 hours, trending in at least 30 countries worldwide.
WWF South Africa decided to go one step further for Earth Hour by asking citizens to sign a petition addressed to Eskom who have been stalling over the implementation of renewable energy contracts.
Dr Morné du Plessis, CEO of WWF South Africa, says, “In order to avoid the extreme impacts of runaway climate change, we need to reduce our carbon emissions urgently by introducing more renewable energy into the energy mix. Yet, the bulk of South Africa’s carbon emissions come from electricity generated by fossil fuels such as coal and oil. This has to change.”
Bruce Burgess, group managing director for Posterscope concludes, “Posterscope South Africa fully supports the WWF’s Earth hour initiative and urges the rest of South Africa to sign the petition to encourage the introduction of renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions. As active citizens we all need to make a concerted effort to conserve our planet.”
The WWF’s petition closes on Thursday, 30 March.
To sign the petition, click here.