Henry Smith MP has welcomed the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to Parliament, ahead of WWF’s Earth Hour, one of the largest events to protect the planet.
The Crawley MP pledged to stop the destruction, bring back nature and harness the power of nature to tackle climate change
Henry said;
“I’m delighted to welcome WWF back to the House of Commons to engage with Members of Parliament and see how we can continue to protect our planet.
“To mark Earth Hour this Saturday (25th March) we’ll see iconic landmarks at home and across the world go dark to highlight the importance of our natural world.
“With an enhanced focus on nature, we need to ensure this resolve stays all year round.”
On Saturday, 25th March, at 8.30pm the world will unite in support of people and the planet. Iconic UK landmarks, including the London Eye, Edinburgh Castle, and the Senedd building, will be turning off their lights in a show of solidarity. But its impact has gone far beyond just turning off lights for one hour. Earth Hour is a time to switch off from distractions and focus on nature.
At the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) COP15 (Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties) conference in Montreal, governments agreed to a global mission to halt and reverse the loss of nature by 2030, while the IPCC has shown that nature is our ally in the fight against climate change. WWF is calling on politicians to show their commitment to tackling the drivers of biodiversity loss and ramp up ambition for its restoration.
Nature is our life support system. When we work with nature and not against it, we have cleaner air to breathe, better water to drink, and healthier food to eat. Science shows that time spent in nature makes us happier and healthier.
But nature in the UK is under threat: a quarter of all our mammals are at risk of extinction; over the last 50 years we have lost 38 million birds from our skies; 97 per cent of our wildflower meadows have disappeared since the 1930s; and 92 per cent of the UK’s seagrass meadows, which can absorb carbon more efficiently than tropical rainforests, have been lost in the last century.
The Director of Advocacy at WWF, Becky, said;
“The UK is in the top 10 per cent of the most nature depleted countries in the world, but together we can make the changes necessary to bring our wild isles back to life.
“We’re delighted to see MPs from across the UK give their support to Earth Hour and pledge to protect our planet. We hope they will be a champion for nature in Parliament and their communities throughout the year, and inspire their constituents and colleagues to act to restore nature.”
Notes to Editors
About Earth Hour
On 31st March 2007, more than 2.2 million individuals and 2,000 businesses in Sydney, Australia switched off their lights for one hour, which marked the beginning of the Earth Hour movement. That one hour has gone global. In 2022, 192 countries and territories participated in switch-off events and activities to show their support for nature and climate.
Today, Earth Hour is one of the world’s largest grassroots environmental movements, which takes place every year with the same aim as back in 2007 - to unite the world in support of people and the planet. But its impact has gone far beyond just turning off lights for one hour.
