The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) is making a call for an hour of "change" for planet Earth this year, inviting all to turn their lights and electrical appliances off on Saturday, March 27, from 8.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. local time to sit back, listen and reflect.
Earth Hour, a grassroots movement organized annually by the WWF on the last Saturday of the month of March since 2007 with millions of participants around the world, aims to draw attention to the climate crisis we're experiencing.
Like last year, the event this year will be strictly virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with people showing their support on social media.
As part of the lead-up to the main event, a webinar will be held on Thursday between 8.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. with representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reiterating their call for Turkey to approve the Paris climate deal and show its commitment to fighting the climate crisis.
Bengisu Özenç, founding director of the Sustainable Economics and Finance Association (SEFiA), Özgür Gürbüz, board member at Ecosphere and Tanyeli Sabuncu, senior specialist at WWF Turkey's Climate Program, will discuss the different dimensions of the climate crisis in the webinar moderated by Neyran Akyıldız, group manager of communications at WWF Turkey.
Those who would like to register for Earth Hour, which is sponsored by Garanti BBVA and Panasonic Life Solutions Turkey, can do so through www.dunyasaati.org.
"We are the first generation to experience the tangible effects of the climate crisis, which can be felt more and more each passing day, but (we are also) the last generation that can stop this deterioration," said Aslı Pasinli, general manager at WWF Turkey.
Pasinli underlined that Turkey was located in the Mediterranean basin, which is one of the regions projected to experience the most severe effects of the climate crisis, especially drought and ocean warming.
She reiterated calls for Turkey to become a party to the Paris climate deal and demonstrate its determination by creating an integrated climate policy in line with a strong emission reduction target and adopting a coal phase-out.
“If we do not act today, we will face even more severe effects of the climate crisis in the not so distant future. So, let's turn off the lights during Earth Hour and listen to the voice of the planet for an hour and to the call for change."
