|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UNEP to observe Earth
Hour in support of action on climate change
Nairobi, 20 March 2009 — The United Nations will observe Earth Hour on
Saturday, 28 March at its Headquarters in New York and at other UN facilities
around the world including the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) offices in
Nairobi, Kenya.
It is part of an effort to mobilize global support for a new UN agreement to
address climate change when governments meet in Copenhagen in December.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called Earth Hour "a way for the citizens
of the world to send a clear message. They want action on climate change."
"It promises to be the largest demonstration of public concern about climate
change ever attempted. People will be telling their representatives to seal a
deal in Copenhagen, a deal at the climate change talks that will protect
people and the planet," he said.
Earth Hour, launched two years ago in Australia by the WWF, the global
conservation organization, calls for people, communities and cities to turn
off their non-essential lights for one hour starting at 8:30 p.m. local time.
The symbolic effort will be observed by more than 1,000 cities and close to a
billion people this year.
The UN will be joining many other landmarks around the world in turning off
its lights at its New York Headquarters and at other locations.
Secretary-General Ban said the deal that emerges from Copenhagen must be
ambitious, fair and effective, and based on sound science.
"We are on a dangerous path," he said. "Our planet is warming. We must change
our ways. We need green growth that benefits all communities. We need
sustainable energy for a more climate-friendly, prosperous world. This is the
path of the future. We must walk it together."
Earth Hour occurs the day before the first round of crucial UN negotiations
this year on the new climate change agreement is set to begin in Bonn,
Germany. The negotiations, which will take place from 29 March to 8 April,
will be the first of three sessions leading up to the Copenhagen Climate
Change summit in December.
The Earth Hour event will take place one week after the vernal equinox—when
night and day are the same duration in both hemispheres—which ensures that it
will be nighttime for all people, wherever they are at 8:30 in the evening.
For further information, please contact
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson, Office of the Executive Director, on Tel:
+254 20 762 3084; Mobile: 254 733 632 755 or when traveling +41 795 965 737;
E-mail: nick.nuttall@unep.org
Anne-France White at Mobile: +254 (0)728 600 494 or E-mail:
anne-france.white@unep.org
Julie Marks at Tel: +254 20 762 3700 or E-mail
julie.marksa@unep.org
Realizing a
"Green New Deal
Scientists look at new evidence that climate change is
accelerating
UNEP
to observe Earth Hour in support of action on climate change
Delivering Tomorrow's Economy and Job Market Today
International Agencies Launch 50% Global Fuel Economy Plan to Key
Industry Players at Geneva Motor Show
Scientists to Study
Interactions among Earth's Environment, Society and the Economy
E-Waste Management
Environmentally Safe-Ship Breaking
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
