In December 2018, O’right and Taiwan Youth Climate Coalition (TWYCC), our partner for this year’s Earth Hour, joined thousands in the march for the climate on the streets of Katowice to call on world leaders at COP24 to adopt climate action plans for the planet we call home.
“Visions for a greener tomorrow” encapsulates our commitment to sustainability. Earth Hour is part of our mission. From uniting companies and green partners, to connecting to people with lifestyle brands and everyday platforms, this year’s Earth Hour aims to reach more people with its impact to raise public awareness on why nature matters. It is our responsibility to change our ways and save the environment, and changing ourselves begins with changing our environment. We all live on the same planet, the only planet we call home, which is why we should work together as a team to make this happen.
Connecting to earth and igniting hope
Earth Hour is a global initiative celebrated on the last Saturday of March every year from 8:30 to 9:30 pm local time. It has now grown to become the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment, with individuals, businesses and cities in 188 countries and territories worldwide joining and up to 18,000 landmarks switching off their lights in solidarity to speak up for nature and inspire urgent action for the environment. Our ninth year serving as the initiator of Earth Hour Taiwan, we have united government units, celebrities, enterprises, youth groups, salon hairdressers and international distributors to protect the earth. This year, international distributors from Switzerland, Italy, Belarus, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, China, Russia, Hong Kong, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Finland, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey showed the same commitment to securing a healthy, thriving and living planet for all.
Earth Hour Taiwan initiator O’right connects the power of government units, celebrities, enterprises and youth groups to speak up for nature.
World unites to put spotlight on nature on 30 March
We celebrate our ninth year of initiating the global environmental movement. On 30 March, Earth Hour kicked off at the Taipei City Government’s East Gate Square. During the hour, Taipei 101, Xinyi District, Office of the President of Taiwan and Taipei Arena plunged into darkness and an award-winning indigenous children’s choir gave a touching performance, which not only shines a light on climate action but also promotes the need of environmental education at an early age. We are participating in creating a new future that will change the world we live in, not just for our generation but for our children and their children.
Amid the darkness, we felt a light of hope. During the hour, Earth Hour 2019 helped reduced electricity consumption by 110,000 kWh and carbon emissions by 61,000 kg, which is the equivalent of 6.3 Taipei 101 fireworks and the planting 5,000 trees.
Indigenous children’s choir casts through the darkness to shine a light on climate change.
Connecting to people through everyday life
We should go beyond Earth Hour and commit to practicing a low-carbon lifestyle and reduce the use of earth’s resources. For Earth Hour 2019, we teamed up with Taipei Metro, decorating the interiors of the cars with eye-catching 3D artworks mimicking disappearing glaciers to spark global warming awareness and its impact on arctic wildlife. Revamping metro cars, an everyday means of commuting, helps open the public eye to the severity of the problems facing us. Earth Hour brings temporary darkness to many cities and iconic landmarks, but is a moment for us to truly reflect on the ways we can go beyond the hour to tackle climate change and protect our brilliant planet.
Till 30 May, passengers and commuters traveling between Tamsui and Xiangshan stations will have the chance to take a ride on the Earth Hour metro car.
Taipei Metro wasn’t the only one that joined. More than two hundred enterprises including Eslite Spectrum, Cathay Holdings, LDC Hotels and StyleMap also took action to stop global warming from making more damage to protect our home.
Going beyond the hour
By switching off the lights, we are joining millions for the largest global environmental movement. But it doesn’t end there. It is more than just a symbolic lights-out event. There are many ways we can get in on the action. We can commit to everyday action for the planet. The Earth Hour “60+” logo reflects the call to go beyond the 60 minutes. Every hour, every day should be Earth Hour if we want to leave a greener, cleaner environment for future generations.
