24 March 2023, Petaling Jaya – From 8:30 pm on 25 March 2023, WWF’s Earth Hour, the world’s largest grassroots environmental movement, is set to create the ‘Biggest Hour for Earth’ yet. Across 190 countries and territories, more individuals, businesses and communities than ever are expected to come together in a powerful moment of unity to celebrate the planet and ‘Give an Hour for Earth’, spending 60 minutes doing something positive for our planet.

Global landmarks across the world are expected to take part in Earth Hour’s iconic switch off moment, including prominent buildings in Klang Valley and other states of Malaysia, the Sydney Opera House, Beijing Phoenix Center, Taipei 101, the Eiffel Tower, and the Empire State Building. For the first time in its incredible 17-year history, this year’s Earth Hour will also encourage people around the globe to ‘switch off’ themselves by taking a break from their routine and everyday distractions, and deciding for themselves what they can do to restore our one home.

Millions of supporters are already gearing up to celebrate this year’s Earth Hour, with many set to take part in beach cleanups, tree planting and a variety of exciting events taking place across the world. WWF-Malaysia launched an Earth Hour 2023 video contest, which calls for the supporters to send in videos with the shout-out to support Earth Hour. Among the strong supporters of the contest is Belia Prihatin, a collective of young people registered under Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports, as well as a member of YOUNGO - the official youth wing of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change representing Malaysia. In addition, many of the world’s most influential ambassadors and changemakers have already confirmed to give an Hour for Earth, which includes Malaysian singer-songwriter Zee Avi, along with other influencers and key opinion leaders.

WWF will bank as many planet positive pledges as possible, as part of an innovative ‘Hour Bank’. This provides different options on how to pledge an hour in what WWF expects to be the biggest Earth Hour yet. The organisation aims to amass seven years’ worth of hours - mirroring the time we have left to take action to secure a nature positive world for the sake of people and planet. Already the Hour Bank has received thousands of pledges from people in more than 70 countries, including: Argentina, Suriname, Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Bulgaria, France, Jamaica, Nepal, Romania, China and Bulgaria.

WWF-Malaysia Executive Director and CEO, Ms. Sophia Lim said, “Climate change is real and it's happening now. It's affecting our planet in many ways, from rising sea levels to devastating wildfires and extreme weather events. However, we are not helpless in the face of this crisis. We can all take action. Let’s stand in solidarity to send a message to the world that we care about our planet, and are committed to fighting climate change. We need to act now to save our planet, and create a sustainable future for ourselves and future generations. Let this year’s Earth Hour serve as a powerful reminder of the importance of our planet, the need to protect it, and how little time we have to do so.”

This year’s Earth Hour comes hot on the heels of the historic Kunming-Montreal Agreement at COP15, which in December last year committed the world to halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030. WWF warns that alarming and unprecedented rates of nature loss are putting species at risk of extinction, with increasing numbers of individuals and families in communities across the world set to lose their homes and access to basic necessities like food, clean water and a livable environment. Last year’s WWF’s latest Living Planet report highlighted that one million species are now threatened with extinction and global wildlife populations have declined by a staggering 69% since 1970.

Earth Hour is therefore more important than ever, to ensure that 2023 is the year of change needed to reach the crucial 2030 nature positive goal. With more people than ever expected to take part in this year’s iconic event, WWF-Malaysia urged everyone to set your timers for 8.30 pm on Saturday, 25 March, switch off your lights, and spend 60 minutes doing something positive for our planet.

This content is provided by WWF Malaysia