Ottawa, March 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Saturday, March 26 at 8:30 p.m. local time, Earth Hour, one of the largest global grassroots movements for the environment, will bring together millions around the world to show their commitment to action on biodiversity loss and climate change.
Every day, in Canada and the world over, we are witnessing the devastating impacts of our current path. Deadly heat waves, wildfires, floods and super storms: these are the calling cards of a planet in crisis. Every day, we get closer to crossing an invisible line — one that unlocks a future that is 4 degrees warmer. The next decade is critical. If we don’t set a path for nature’s recovery, we will continue on an irreversible course toward the destruction of complex ecosystems, severe climate disruption driven by greenhouse gas emissions and the extinction of more than one million species worldwide.
This year's Earth Hour is taking place at a particularly crucial time. Later this year world leaders will gather for the second part of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 and decide on a new global action plan for nature, making 2022 a once-in-a-decade opportunity to create a biodiversity framework which halts and reverses nature loss for generations to come.
That framework, if designed properly, would also facilitate nature-based climate solutions that, alongside aggressive decarbonization, can help keep warming below 1.5 degrees.
Megan Leslie, president and CEO of WWF-Canada says:
“Earth Hour is an opportunity to connect with friends and family and reflect on the challenges we face when it comes to climate change and biodiversity loss. While the science is clear that humans have irreversibly altered the planet, we still have a fleeting chance to take action and stay on the right side of an invisible line — and reverse the path we're on. This year we’re asking people to share their support for nature-based solutions to these challenges by sharing our Earth Hour video on their social channels and visiting our website to find out how they can do more.”
Available to editors:
- Interviews with Megan Leslie and WWF-Canada conservation experts to talk about how we can reverse the path we are on.
- WWF-Canada's 1 min-long Earth Hour video, “The Line” — a beautiful, but haunting reminder of what we stand to lose if keep on this path.
- Link to Earth Hour site
- Link to last year’s Earth Hour photos
During Earth Hour, WWF-Canada will be asking the public to:
- Share the Earth Hour video: On the night of Earth Hour, we’ll be posting a must-watch video on all our social media channels — and all you have to do is share it.
- Demand protections for wildlife by participating in our No Dumping campaign to tell the government that ship dumping and marine protection don’t mix.
- Learn more about Earth Hour 2022 to discover other opportunities that go beyond the hour
About Earth Hour
Earth Hour is WWF's flagship global environmental movement. Born in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour has grown to become the world's largest grassroots movements for the environment, inspiring individuals, communities, businesses and organizations in more than 190 countries and territories to take tangible environmental action. Historically, Earth Hour has focused on the climate crisis, but more recently, Earth Hour has strived to also bring the pressing issue of nature loss to the fore. The aim is to create an unstoppable movement for nature, as it did when the world came together to tackle climate change. The movement recognizes the role of individuals in creating solutions to the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges and harnesses the collective power of its millions of supporters to drive change.
Since its inception in 2007, Earth Hour has inspired global initiatives for the protection of nature, climate, and the environment, helping drive awareness, action and policy change. Highlights of the movement include helping in the creation of a 3.4 million hectares protected marine area in Argentina, a 2,700-hectare Earth Hour forest in Uganda, securing new legislation for the protection of seas and forests in Russia, pushing for a ban on single-use plastics and Styrofoam products in the Ecuadorian capital, and initiating the planting of 20,000 mangrove seedlings in 13 cities in Indonesia.
About WWF-Canada
WWF-Canada is committed to equitable and effective conservation actions that restore nature, reverse wildlife loss and fight climate change. We draw on scientific analysis and Indigenous guidance to ensure all our efforts connect to a single goal: a future where wildlife, nature and people thrive. For more information visit wwf.ca.
