3. ABOUT EARTH HOUR
 Earth Hour is WWF's global
campaign inspiring
governments, businesses, communi
ties and individuals to take a stand
against Climate Change.
 It is that one crucial hour uniting
the world and building synergies
through the collective action of
switching off non essential lights in
celebration of life and our planet.

4. Where Earth Hour began
• Earth Hour was launched in Sydney, Australia in 2007,
where 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000
businesses turned their lights off for one hour.
• Just a year later, Earth Hour reached 370 cities and
towns in more than 35 countries across 18 time zones,
and the campaign shifted from a ‘Sydney Event’ to a
‘Global Sustainability Movement’.
• Since then, every year Earth Hour sets new standards
and breaks its own records of mass participation and
support.
• 2010 received participation from a record 1.3 billion
individuals across 4616 cities in 128 countries globally.
• Notable landmarks like Acropolis in Greece, Eiffel
Tower in Paris, Hiroshima Peace Gardens in Japan, and
Pyramids in Egypt switched off in support.

5. Where Earth Hour began
• 2011 was a memorable year in the history of the
campaign, as it marked a new phase, with
supporters going beyond the hour by committing
to sustainable action all year round.
• A record 1.8 billion individuals across more than
5200 cities in 135 countries participated by
switching off lights, and pledging to imbibe
environment friendly practices into everyday life
to benefit the planet.
• The year 2012 was bigger than ever, with more
than 7000 cities across 150 countries participated
in the campaign.

6. Why get involved?
• Earth Hour is a unique opportunity for
individuals, groups, businesses and
governments to do something positive for
the environment.
• It is not just about saving energy for that
one hour, but it symbolizes the first step in
the direction of adopting environment
friendly activities into everyday life, which
will lead the way towards a cleaner
environment and a sustainable lifestyle.

7. EARTH HOUR IN INDIA
• India has celebrated Earth Hour for
three consecutive years since
2009, with each year breaking its
own records of participation from the
citizens of the country.
• In 2011, individuals from more than
130 Indian cities switching off their
lights, showing how great things can
be achieved when people come
together for a common cause.

8. The Journey so far……
• India joined the Earth Hour movement
in 2009, where 5 million Indians across
56 cities showed their support by
switching off non essential lights and
saving approximately 1000 MW of
power in that one hour.
• Hundreds on educational institutions,
100 top public and private sector
organizations, and governments of
various cities participated.

9. The Journey so far……
• In the last three years, the campaign has grown
into a national movement supported by
individuals, local governments, private and public
sector organizations, and institutions.
• In 2011, individuals across 130 Indian cities
participated and committed to a better lifestyle,
adhering to the new phase of the campaign going
beyond the hour.
• Over 1,000,000 students joined the movement
as young environmentalists. Earth Hour
penetrated beyond the urban and educated
masses alone, witnessing participation from tier
II and III cities, and villages with no access to
basic energy requirements.

10. The Journey so far……
• Local governments and state and city
officials inspired citizens to observe
Earth Hour leading by example, and
switching off lights in State Chief
Ministers residents and important
landmarks across the state.
• Reiterating India’s sincere commitment
towards environment conservation, the
Rashtrapati Bhawan also switched off
lights, so did the Prime Ministers’
residence.

11. The Journey so far……
• In 2012, Earth Hour reached more than 150 Indian
cities, and touched important milestones.
• For the first time ever, the iconic Mysore palace observed
Earth Hour by reducing the duration of illumination of the
Palace on weekends from 15 minutes to 5 minutes.
• This symbolic gesture sent out a powerful message not
only to the citizens of the city and country, but to the
thousands of international tourists who visit the Palace to
witness this magnificent illumination.
• The campaign has been endorsed by well known celebrities
such as Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya
Balan, Sachin Tendulkar, Rana Dagubatti, the Royal
Challengers cricket team, Chennai film actor and singer
Dhanush, Kolkota film actor Rituparna Sengupta, who all
helped increase outreach by appealing to their fans and
followers to participate.

12. EARTH HOUR 2013
• Earth Hour continues to be a global call to action
to every individual, every business and every
community. A call to stand up, to show leadership
and be responsible for our future. At 8:30 PM on
23rd March 2013, the world will come together
once again to switch off for an hour.
• This Earth Hour, switch off lights, and make a
sincere commitment to become a more aware
and conscious consumer!
• Earth Hour 2013 aims to introduce and raise
awareness about Renewable Energy solutions as
an upcoming and practical option for you to
adopt to reduce your impact on the environment.

13. Earth Hour 2013 calls for:
• Individuals to commit to adopting household products
powered by Renewable Energy.
• Organization to adopt renewable energy solutions to
run their business operations and production
processes.
• Governments to adopt policies favorable to the
production of renewable energy to meet power
demands.
• The speed and scale of climate change, fuelled by an
ever increasing consumption pattern of the Earth’s
resources, is impacting individuals all over the world.
Unless we make efforts to transform our energy
production systems to 100% renewable, we may do
irreversible damage to our planet. Each one of us has
the power to make this transition possible by taking
small, yet significant steps.
• Each one of us has the power to change the world we
live in! You can take your first step right now.

14. Making the transition to 100%
renewable is the need of the hour!
• The speed, scale and complexity of
climate change is having a multiplying
effect on other environmental
stresses, and calls for inclusive actions
of equal speed and scale.
• In light of the negative effects of fossil
fuels and future projected energy
demands, a transformation of global
energy systems towards 100%
renewable is an absolute necessity.

15. Why is it important to make the
transition to Renewable Energy now?
• It is a well known fact today, that on a global
average, we are consuming 50% more than the
Earth’s annual bio capacity, and such severe
pressure on the planets resources is propelling us
towards a changing climate, the effects of which
are being felt across the world.
• From unexpected changing seasons, to cyclones
and floods, to earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions, the Earth is sending out loud and clear
signals to humanity, that if we do not act now to
change the way we live, we will be lock-in an
irreversible damage to our planet.

16. Why is it important to make the transition to
Renewable Energy now?
• For the first time in history, more than 50% of the human population is living
in cities around the world, which now account for 70% of the worlds CO2
emissions.
• In India, 30% of the population has migrated to cities, and this is expected to
double by the year 2050. Our lifestyle pattern and the need for urban
development to sustain this growing population are increasingly becoming
more dependent on energy.
• While development is inevitable, and a necessity, it is very much possible to
transform our global energy production systems towards 100% renewable and
reduce wasteful consumption.
• Meeting the growing energy demands with the existing energy productions
systems will ensure a catastrophe with global repercussions on our natural
systems.
• Moreover, from a long term economic perspective, climate change is more
serious in terms of its expected negative effects than any single financial crisis.
• Climate change is a global challenge, and must be tackled by individuals,
governments, and organizations around the world in the spirit of cooperation.
• What we need today are new energy solutions with radically reduced climate
impact for every business sector, and environmental policies favourable to this
transition.

17. The need for Renewable Energy in India
• As India’s economy develops, energy requirements and
per capita consumptions and emissions are also
expected to increase dramatically.
• India is the third largest Green House Gas emitting
country in the world, though in per capital terms it
might be much lower than the global average.
• In the next 20 years, to sustain its growing population,
India will have to increase its primary energy supply by
a factor of three to four, and increase electricity
generation by a factor of five to six. India’s energy
demands are increasing at the rate of 2.5% annually .
• while more than 600 million Indians still have no access
to electricity. The challenge in India is to ensure
continued economic growth while adopting sustainable
solutions to environment protection, climate mitigation
and climate adaptation.

18. How is India making the transition
towards Renewables?
• India is the first country to have a dedicated Ministry for New and
Renewable Energy (MNRE), and ranks the 5th in the world as a producer of
renewable energy.
• India has an ambitious target for solar energy to achieve 20 GWh of installed
solar power generation capacity by 2020. Additionally, the country already
has 16.2 GWh of installed capacity from wind, and significant amounts from
biomass and mini-hydro power plants. In terms of investments, India ranks
10th among the G20 members and constitutes 2% of the total G20
investment in renewable energy.
• India's National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) is a comprehensive
framework for addressing challenges of climate change, while following a
path of ecologically sustainable development.
• Its two pronged strategy works towards protecting the poor and the
vulnerable through inclusive, sustainable development that is sensitive to
climate change, and achieving growth objectives in the direction of enhanced
ecological sustainability and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
• In addition, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency is a proactive body introducing
successful programmes to reduce energy consumption by way of increasing
efficiency of systems.

19. Why are the traditional sources of
energy not good enough?
• Fossil fuels are the main source of energy in India while coal alone contributes to
more than 60% of India’s electric power generation.
• It is the only natural resource available in abundance in India and consequently
used as a thermal energy source. India is the third largest producer of coal in the
world but the coal it produces is of very poor quality.
• While the thermal power plants use this coal to produce energy, they also produce
hazardous gases like carbon dioxide (CO2), sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides
(NOx) and other air borne inorganic particulates like fly ash that are responsible for
the greenhouse effect. Burning coal is also a leading cause of smog, acid rain, and
toxic air pollution.
Harmful pollutants emitted from a typical coal plant include approximately:
• 3.5 million tons of CO2 per year
• 7,000 tons of SO2 (sulfur dioxide) per year
• 3,300 tons of NOx (nitrogen oxides) per year
• 500 tons of particulate matter
• Traces of toxic heavy metals like lead, cadmium and uranium
• Carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and arsenic