Lights go out for Earth Hour

French WWF volunteers placing candles under the Eiffel Tower (WWF/Nina Munn)

Over the weekend lights went out at heritage sites, modern marvels and royal palaces in honour of the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour.

Pharma was one of the industries to support the annual climate action campaign and companies that took part included AstraZeneca, which arranged for 19 sites across nine countries to participate.

Also doing their bit for Earth Hour was Johnson & Johnson, whose global headquarters in New Jersey turned off all non-essential lighting for one hour on Saturday.

Andy Ridley, co-founder and executive director of Earth Hour, said: “The response from citizens, businesses and government has been truly phenomenal. Crossing geographic, economic and cultural boundaries, it has brought together people from all over the planet to celebrate the one thing we all share – the place we live.

“World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour, at a personal, local and global level, has become a rallying point for those who want action on climate change and are prepared to be part of the solution,” he added.

Conservation organisation the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) launched Earth Hour in Sydney in 2007, persuading two million people to switch off their lights.

This year participants swelled to a record 126 countries and territories, over 4,000 cities, towns and municipalities and hundreds of millions of people.