The Biggest Hour for Earth

Since our beginnings in 2007, Earth Hour has been known for the “lights off” moment, with individuals from around the globe switching off their lights to show symbolic support for the planet and to raise awareness of the environmental issues affecting it.

More than 15 years later, we are now at a tipping point with our climate and nature crises, putting at risk the fate of our one home and all our futures. We are on course to breach by 2030 the 1.5°C global temperature increase limit set by the Paris Climate Agreement, and nature - the source of our very livelihoods and one of our biggest allies against the climate crisis - is also under severe threat, facing alarming and unprecedented rates of loss globally.

The next 7 years are therefore crucial to all our futures - we have to stay under the 1.5°C climate threshold to avoid irreversible damage to our planet, and we need to reverse nature loss by 2030, ending the decade with more nature than we started, not less. To make this happen, individuals, communities, businesses, and governments must all urgently step up their efforts to protect and restore our one shared home.

With this 2030 goal in mind, we too must step things up. So in 2023, we’re breathed new life into Earth Hour - our brand, our work, our message, and our mission - creating the Biggest Hour for Earth. How? By calling on our supporters across the globe to switch off their lights and give an hour for Earth, spending 60 minutes doing something - anything - positive for our planet.

Amidst our increasingly divided and polarized societies, the Biggest Hour for Earth becomes a precious moment of unity, reminding the world that our one shared home needs our help and that we all can - and must - play a part in protecting it.

Can an Hour change the world?

Earth Hour invites you to switch off and spend 60 minutes doing something - anything - positive for our planet.

Just 60 minutes? Yes, just one hour. It may not seem like much, but the magic happens when you, and those like you in Asia and Africa, North and South America, Oceania and Europe - supporters in over 190 countries and territories - all give an hour for our one home, creating the Biggest Hour for Earth.

For Nature - For Us © naturepl-com Christophe Courteau WWF

For the future of our planet, and us

We envision a world where our climate is stable, nature thrives, and where all people have health, happiness, and prosperity. This future can still be a reality, but we must act now - the clock is ticking.

Unless we change things, we are on track to breach the 1.5°C temperature increase limit set by the Paris Agreement by 2030. Human activities are currently also destroying nature at a rate much faster than it can replenish itself, and unless we reverse nature loss by the end of the decade, all species - including us - will face grave and unprecedented danger. The COVID-19 pandemic was already a warning sign that the loss of nature is destabilizing society, and we stand to lose even more - our homes and access to basic necessities like food, clean water and a livable environment - if this loss continues.

So where does Earth Hour fit in? Amidst the hustle and bustle of our daily lives - where it can be easy to overlook the climate and nature crises we are facing - Earth Hour aims to be an unmissable global reminder of the importance of our planet, the need to protect it, and how little time we have to do so. Now more than ever, we need our increasingly divided world to come together to take urgent action for our one shared home. We need everyone and anyone to feel inspired and empowered to play a part, no matter how small. Most importantly, we must continue to shine a beacon of hope for a brighter future, harnessing and celebrating the power of the people.

Learn more about nature loss & climate change