Posted on August, 28 2009

WWF’s Earth Hour today announced that the City of Copenhagen will play host to a single-city Earth Hour while it hosts the crucial international conference intended to produce a new deal to stabilize the earth’s climate.

The special Earth Hour, involving Copenhagen citizens turning out their lights for one hour at 7pm on 16 December 2009, will demonstrate the city’s support for world’s leaders reaching agreement on fair and effective ways to reduce the risks of catastrophic climate change.

"Copenhagen will have a special role as host for the COP15. We'll gather the mayors from the world’s largest cities in December to put pressure on the state leaders to negotiate an agreement in Copenhagen. Also the city will host a series of exiting climate events to engage and involve the citizens of Copenhagen and the many guests in the city. Earth Hour Copenhagen, will be a great example of this,“ said Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Ritt Bjerregaard.

Earth Hour Copenhagen follows and builds on the overwhelming support for effective climate action demonstrated by hundreds of millions of people from 88 countries turning off lights for Earth Hour on 28 March earlier this year.

More than 4,000 cities and towns, including nine of the world’s 10 largest cities, participated in the event which saw the lights go out on many of the world’s great landmarks, including ancient wonders the Pyramids and the Parthenon and national icons such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, Table Mountain, Big Ben, the Empire State building and the Eiffel Tower.

Earth Hour 2009 also drew the support of leading world figures such as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who called climate change “the greatest human-induced crisis facing the world today”.

WWF International Director General James Leape said that the citizens of Copenhagen will become ambassadors for the rest of the world in calling for action on climate change at the UN Summit.

“Schools, churches, businesses and individuals in just one city can make a powerful statement on behalf of their fellow citizens around the planet.

“With hundreds of millions of people participating, this year’s Earth Hour delivered an unequivocal global mandate calling for action at Copenhagen.

In addition to announcing Earth Hour Copenhagen, the Earth Hour campaign has also launched a world first social mapping platform aimed at further illustrating this global mandate.

The new ‘Show Your Vote’ platform asks people to show their Vote for Earth (over Global Warming) in the lead up to the UN Climate Summit.

‘Show Your Vote’ enables supporters to show their Vote for Earth online by pinpointing their location on a Google Map. Users can also add photos, videos and links, which will be displayed in a pop-up when their map pin is clicked.

The platform is open source, free, available to everyone and can easily be added to any web page, with or without Earth Hour branding. It can be customised to suit the look and feel of the host website and can easily include a modified message.

Earth Hour Executive Director, Andy Ridley called on people, companies and community groups to use the platform to influence the outcome of the most important decision human society has ever faced.

“Show your Vote is a great example of using technology to allow ordinary citizens to make a difference.
“It helps give a voice to billions of people who would otherwise have no chance to let world leaders know they want action at Copenhagen.

“Join the hundred of millions of people who Voted Earth during Earth Hour by getting on the platform and showing your Vote for Earth,” said Mr Ridley.

‘Show Your Vote’ can be found at www.earthhour.org

For more information, please contact:
Kath Kissell
Earth Hour Global
T: +61 (0) 408 408 562
E: kkissell@wwf.org.au

About Earth Hour’s Vote Earth
Earth Hour’s Vote Earth campaign builds on the call for action on climate change provided by millions of people, companies and communities during Earth Hour. The campaign aims to provide a platform for the people of the world to deliver world leaders a mandate for the right decision to be made at the United Nations Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December 2009. Find out more about the campaign at www.earthhour.org Earth Hour’s Vote Earth is organised by WWF.

About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with almost 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.