Wellington, March 27, (dpa/GNA) – Monuments in New Zealand will be the first in the world to go dark for Earth Hour on Saturday.
The global climate change event encourages nations to switch off their lights for an hour, to bring to light the issue of climate change.
Auckland’s Sky Tower and Wellington’s parliament buildings will go dark at 8:30 pm (0730 GMT), Livia Esterhazy, head of the environmental organization WWF New Zealand, said.
Later, other monuments across the globe, including the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower and the Sydney Opera House will switch off their lights in solidarity, she said.
The New Zealand government declared a climate emergency in 2020, aiming to reduce the country’s greenhouse emissions to reach to goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“Now, it’s up to all of us to do our bit to turn this into action and make Aotearoa [New Zealand] a global leader in efforts to tackle the climate and nature crises. Earth Hour presents an unmissable opportunity to stand in solidarity for the health of our planet and our own future,” Esterhazy said.
Earth Hour began in 2007 in Australia, with 190 countries and territories taking part in the initiative in 2020.
GNA