Tunis: Earth Hour, the world's largest mobilisation for nature, organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), will take place on Saturday at 8:30 pm.
Every year since 2007, on one of the last Saturdays in March at 8.30pm local time, millions of people around the world join forces to raise awareness of the planet's natural crises by switching off their lights for one hour.
More than 185 countries take part each year. Thousands of iconic landmarks switch off for a symbolic hour to show their collective support for protecting the planet.
In 2023, WWF is proposing to extend the initiative by inviting everyone to use the Hour for the Planet to do something, however small, to help the climate and the planet.
"Our planet is in crisis, but there is still time to prevent biodiversity loss and climate disruption from reaching catastrophic levels. Every hour counts if we are to reverse the loss of nature by 2030. Spending 60 minutes doing something positive for the planet can generate thousands, if not millions, of hours of action and awareness," the fund stresses.
The latest Living Planet report, published by WWF in October 2022, reveals a devastating 69% decline in vertebrate wildlife populations in less than fifty years. It also shows that unless global warming is limited to 1.5°C, climate change will become the main driver of biodiversity loss in the coming decades.
The planet is therefore facing a double emergency: climate change and biodiversity loss. With this in mind, WWF is calling on institutions and the general public to take action to protect biodiversity.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse