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Earth Hour’s History
Earth Hour’s History
Journey through our achievements and milestones over the years. As a global Earth Hour, we've come a long way. Let's continue uniting people to protect the planet and create positive environmental impact through the power of the crowd.
Journey through our achievements and milestones over the years. As a global Earth Hour, we've come a long way. Let's continue uniting people to protect the planet and create positive environmental impact through the power of the crowd.
2007
2007
It all began on Saturday, 31 March 2007. The world’s first Earth Hour in Sydney, Australia, saw more than 2.2 million people turn off their lights for one hour to show a climate-sceptic government that people were concerned about climate change.
2008
2008
50 million people in 35 countries took part in the second Earth Hour. Major landmarks that went dark included the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Colosseum in Rome.
2009
2009
Earth Hour broke all records for mass participation and was on its way to becoming one of the world’s largest grassroots movements for the environment. In the lead-up to the United Nation’s COP15 climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, Earth Hour’s Vote Earth campaign was launched.
Earth Hour brought a petition for climate action from 1 million people to COP15, symbolizing the growing demand by people to be heard on environmental issues.
2010
2010
Three months after the COP15 in Copenhagen, Denmark, seen by many as a setback to international climate efforts, Earth Hour became a global focal point for calls for a sustainable future.
2011
2011
The “+” was added into the Earth Hour logo to illustrate the evolution of the movement, and create a symbol that would inspire, empower and unite people from all over the world in a global commitment to take action all year long, beyond the one hour.
2012
2012
As part of Earth Hour’s I WILL IF YOU WILL campaign, a digital petition led by WWF-Russia collected over 122,000 signatures and resulted in the passing of a law to better protect the country’s seas from oil pollution—the first people-powered law to be ignited by Earth Hour.
2013
2013
The power of the people continued to drive tangible change. Earth Hour led to the creation of Argentina’s largest marine protected area, the 3.4 million hectare Banco Namuncurá (Burdwood Bank)—tripling the area of protected waters in the country. It also led to WWF providing cyclone-affected villages in Madagascar with wood-saving stoves that also reduced smoke inhalation, and WWF-Uganda securing 2,700 hectares of land to establish the first-ever Earth Hour forest.
2014
2014
WWF’s partnership with Sony Pictures led to Spider-Man becoming Earth Hour’s first global Superhero Ambassador.
In Pakistan, the WWF team mobilized government officials to implement city-wide environmental reforms in Punjab and Sindh provinces, while the Galápagos Islands, a UNESCO World Heritage site, became the first province in Ecuador to ban plastic bags and other disposable packaging after a successful Earth Hour campaign.
2015
2015
Over 10,400 landmarks, including several UNESCO World Heritage sites, switched off for Earth Hour. All around the world, Earth Hour teams led over 620,000 actions and initiatives to drive climate-focused legislative change—this included fighting deforestation in Uganda, putting in place a 10-year freeze on new oil projects in the Russian Arctic, creating a national park in Malaysia, reducing energy usage in Brunei Darussalam, and pushing for stronger climate change legislation in Scotland and Switzerland.
2016
2016
Over 2.4 million actions were taken to “change” climate change.
WWF-Spain’s Earth Hour campaign led to 50,000 citizens urging the Spanish government to phase out fossil fuels and undertake a transition to renewables to uphold its climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.
2017
2017
We commemorated a decade of Earth Hour!
Seven countries aimed for climate policy outcomes, and, globally, over 18,500 people donated their Facebook feed and used their social power to spark change.
In Bulgaria and Poland, people united to raise their voice against laws and policies that threaten biodiversity.
2018
2018
WWF launched the #Connect2Earth campaign with Earth Hour, and pivoted Earth Hour’s focus from climate change to nature and biodiversity loss.
In French Polynesia, Earth Hour helped inspire public pressure that led to 5 million sq km of its Exclusive Economic Zone in the South Pacific being classified as a Managed Marine Area—helping preserve vital marine ecosystems for present and future generations.
2019
2019
The #Connect2Earth campaign continued to raise awareness of the importance of nature for our health, prosperity and survival. Globally, supporters were asked to speak up for nature and raise their Voice for the Planet in an online petition to urge world leaders to take immediate action to protect and restore nature.
2020
2020
Amid the COVID-19 global health crisis, Earth Hour saw people from a record-breaking 190 countries and territories take part in the first-ever completely digital event from their homes to show they care about the health and future of people and planet.
In Uganda, the Minister of State for Environment, Hon Beatrice Anywar Atim, activated a previously passed ban on the importation, local manufacture, sale or use of plastic bags following an Earth Hour lead-up march on 13 February against the ill-effects of plastic pollution.
2021
2021
While still facing COVID-19 restrictions in many countries, people in a record-breaking 192 countries and territories united digitally to speak up for nature louder than ever. The first-ever Earth Hour Virtual Spotlight highlighted the connection between nature loss, climate change and the rise of pandemics.
2022
2022
Amid the challenges happening around the world this year—from the ongoing pandemic to wars, floods and social unrest, Earth Hour was an opportunity for people to unite and show solidarity for people and the planet. Over 190 countries and territories took part, culminating in a record-breaking 10.1+ billion social media impressions and over 26,000 media headlines for Earth Hour globally.
2023
2023
This year, we launched the Biggest Hour for Earth campaign, a multi-year platform to maximise the power of the hour from 2023 and beyond to create the Biggest Hour for Earth. We called on supporters all across the globe to switch off their lights and give an hour for Earth, spending 60 minutes doing something—anything—positive for our planet.
We saw people from over 190 countries and territories taking part, ‘switching off’ from everyday distractions to Give their Hour for Earth. Earth Hour 2023 culminated over 410,000 total hours given for the planet, which is equaivalent to 46 years of engaging with our planet.
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