Lights off tomorrow, March 22, from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm for the 19th edition of Earth Hour. Everyone is encouraged to switch off lights and other non-essential appliances for 60 minutes to show support for the environment. Let’s join this worldwide action for planet Earth. Every contribution counts.
Earth Hour is a global environmental movement organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Started in 2007, the event takes place annually, typically on the last Saturday of March. According to the Earth Hour website, the second-to-last and last weekend of March is around the time of the Spring and Autumn equinoxes in the northern and southern hemispheres respectively, which allows for near coincidental sunset times in both hemispheres, thereby ensuring the greatest visual impact for a global ‘lights out’ event.
Earth Hour is a symbolic gesture to promote energy conservation and environmental sustainability. It's meant to inspire people to think about their energy consumption habits and the broader issue of climate change. In 2024, over 1.5 million hours were given to our planet by supporters around the world. Earth Hour serves as a beacon of positivity, hope, and inspiration to rally as many people as possible in over 180 countries and territories including the Philippines.
For Earth Hour 2025, Kirsten Schuijt, Director General, WWF International said that “the stakes have never been higher because we are rapidly approaching dangerous climate tipping points beyond which key ecosystems may never be able to recover”. Earth Hour is a powerful reminder of the urgency to act while we still can. It is not just about switching off lights; it’s about switching on a global movement for change.
The Philippines has earned the distinction of being an “Earth Hour Hero Country” by consistently registering the greatest number of participating towns and cities since it first joined the event in 2009. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), the Earth Hour 2024 has generated electricity savings of 132.11 megawatts (MW) for the Philippines, an increase of 110.73 percent from 62.69 MW savings in 2023.
The electricity saved for an hour may not help much to stop global warming, but it is a symbolic show of support which hopefully will translate to more positive actions to address climate change and other environmental problems.
According to WWF, Earth Hour has led to the ban of plastics and other disposable packaging in the Galápagos Islands. It has also inspired the creation of a Marine Protected Area in French Polynesia, along with many other environmental changes to protect our nature and climate for present and future generations. In Paraguay, WWF used the Earth Hour platform to build public support to gain an extension of the logging moratorium, helping to reduce deforestation.