Earth Hour 2021: New Zealand turns off the lights first – various things from Germany and the world

In the Asia Pacific region, many people and cities have ushered in Earth Hour 2021.

In New Zealand, one of the first countries to go out for an hour, the WWF Nature Foundation has asked residents to participate widely. Among other things, darkness covered the Sky Tower in Auckland and the Parliament House in the capital, Wellington.

Light campaigns have also been planned in Australia and Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines. In addition, Singapore’s Bay Park Gardens, which is one of the landmarks in the city-state due to its impressive light scenery, has confirmed its participation.

In early December, the New Zealand government declared a state of climate emergency. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wants to put climate protection at the top of the agenda and policy plans, for example, to make the entire public sector climate neutral by 2025. New Zealand’s WWF said: “Frequent and extreme weather events, sea level rise, and catastrophic loss To nature and wildlife, to cause havoc in our environment and in our lives. ” Earth Hour is an opportunity to call for urgent action.

This year, Down Under was once again one of the first countries in the world after New Zealand to go out of the lights. The world-famous Sydney Opera House participated for the 14th time in a row. Australia has been particularly hard hit by climate change and has only experienced its worst floods in decades in the past few days.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210327-99-992258 / 2 (dpa)