Nelson Mandela Square and Sandton City will be taking part in the Earth Hour 2017 initiative, in conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA).
Earth Hour is a global WWF climate change initiative which calls upon individuals, businesses, governments and communities to switch off their lights for one hour on Saturday, 25 March from 20h30 to 21h30 local time, as a symbolic gesture of unity to reflect on our impact on the planet. The initiative is a global citizen movement of positive change for the environment.
The Sandton City Dome (Protea Court) will be illuminated in green lights in the lead up to Earth Hour, in a bid to raise awareness of the initiative.
The Earth Hour campaign has additional support from the rest of Liberty Two Degrees retail portfolio, which will be acknowledging the initiative in various aspects within their centres –Eastgate Shopping Centre, Midlands Mall, Liberty Promenade and Botshebelo Mall.
Dorah Modise, CEO of the GBCSA said that the Earth Hour movement has over time developed into more than just switching off lights for one hour. “It’s about collective action towards combatting climate change. It’s about going beyond the hour through daily decisions aimed at conserving our natural resources and about being informed and spreading awareness about opportunities for collective action.”
Dr Morné du Plessis, CEO of WWF South Africa, commented: “In order to avoid the extreme impacts of runaway climate change, we need to reduce our carbon emissions urgently by introducing more renewable energy into the energy mix. Yet, the bulk of South Africa’s carbon emissions come from electricity generated by fossil fuels such as coal and oil. This has to change”.