By Chris Howe

One of the great things about working for WWF is that you’re part of a huge international network. And it never feels as exciting as when there’s a big international event coming up. Often it’s a major international meeting where big decisions are going to be made, for example about threatened species in Africa, or the ozone layer, or trade regulations; exciting for WWF, and very exciting for those people involved directly, but often only on the periphery of most people’s vision.

This week, however, is very different indeed. Because at the end of this week the world will celebrate Earth Hour. For the last few weeks our email inboxes have been overflowing with updates from our global team – sometimes two or three a day – as new partner cities and countries sign up, businesses make commitments, and new and highly creative ideas from around the world hit TV screens, radios and the internet with increasing frequency.

Of course you don’t have to be slightly mad to try and set up the biggest mass participation environmental event ever – but it certainly helps. The calmness with which our international team appear to manage an infinite number of problems, when we all know it must be chaotic, frustrating and sometimes just unbearable, is mirrored by the New Zealand team. Working with a total budget of, oh, at least a dollar, they have marshalled advertising agencies, television and radio stations, university students, retailers, multinational companies, a luxury hotel, t-shirt manufacturers, printers, nearly 50 town, city and regional councils, as well as the rest of WWF New Zealand’s staff, with smiles and enthusiasm, fortified only by a substantial supply of pure dark chocolate.

It is true that money can’t buy the kind of passion the WWF team brings to something like Earth Hour. It’s a bit like the International Arts Festival. People say, oh, that’s all over for another two years, and then look surprised when they find out the Festival has permanent full time staff. As if you can start thinking about forty-odd shows, multiple venues and sponsorship a couple of months out and expect it to go well. We’ve certainly had our fair share of that kind of reaction with Earth Hour. But in the end, its about helping and supporting councils, businesses and individuals to do whatever they can for Earth Hour, whether they started planning a full nine months ago (yes, Hamilton, we mean you!) or whether they thought about it only yesterday. No, I’m not mentioning any names for that one.

It can be fun, it’s definitely manic, it’s often frustrating and it’s ultimately extremely rewarding. Because Earth Hour, after all, is actually about the most important environmental issue this world has ever seen. Climate change will affect everybody. If we take action now, together, we stand a chance of avoiding the worst of it. And that’s what Earth Hour does – it shows that if we all act together, we can achieve something big, and that our prime ministers and presidents need to see the light, take notice, and take action.

It’s hard, on the night of Earth Hour, to get a sense of just how huge it really is. Last year was the first truly global Earth Hour, with over 4,000 towns and cities around the world taking part. I remember quite clearly on the Sunday morning following Earth Hour last year, being asked how I thought it went. I had to say, I had absolutely no idea. I knew that the SkyTower switch-off, and events at Ecostore and the Langham in Auckland had all gone well, but beyond that, I knew nothing. And at that point, many countries in the Americas had not even begun their Earth Hour.

It was only as the news started to roll in, in the following days, about the amazing things people had done in New Zealand and around the world that the true significance of the event started to dawn on me. When, a couple of weeks later, we received the survey data showing that over half of adult New Zealanders had taken part, there was a stunned silence in the office. How had such a tiny team, with virtually no resources, achieved that?

The answer, of course, is that it wouldn’t have happened if no-one else cared. The fact that New Zealanders from all walks of life responded by taking part in huge numbers, wanting to make our voices heard on this all-important issue, shows just how strongly we feel about climate change.

This year it has seemed even harder. We’ve had even less money, and more demands on our time. But looking around at the groundswell of interest all across the country, and the world, we know that Earth Hour is no longer just an event that happens on the last Saturday in March. Earth Hour is a global movement, perhaps the biggest environmental movement the world has ever seen.

I’d like to say a huge personal thanks to everyone who took part last year, and who will be switching off for Earth Hour this Saturday at 8.30pm. All of us here at WWF feel very privileged to be playing our part in making it happen.