Celebrities from across Asia are leading the global ambassador efforts for Earth Hour this year, lending their voices of support for the campaign and taking up the challenge to inspire ongoing positive actions for the environment beyond the hour. This year’s focus for India is to encourage people to make the switch , calling for individuals to adopt household products powered by renewable energy; organisations to adopt renewable energy solutions to run their business operations and production processes; and Governments to promote policies favourable to the production and uptake of renewable energy. Read More

Earth Hour report 12 March 2013:

SINGAPORE: Celebrities from across Asia are leading the global ambassador efforts for Earth Hour this year, lending their voices of support for the campaign and taking up the challenge to inspire ongoing positive actions for the environment beyond the hour.

Nadya Hutagalung, Utt Panichkul, Pevita Pearce, Andy F. Noya, Ariel from NOAH, G.E.M. and S.H.E are among the biggest names in Asia supporting the global environmental movement now in its seventh year.

Earth Hour 2013 will take place on Saturday, March 23 at 8:30PM.

The growth of support for the campaign across the continent reflects the rise of a growing Asia, both as an economic powerhouse and as an influential hub for global initiatives like Earth Hour.

“The issues that face our planet are as relevant to Asia as they are to the rest of the world. As our economies grow and Asia becomes the predominant economic force across the planet, we have to pause and think about what legacy we want to leave, not only for our countries in the Asian region, but also for the whole planet,” says Nadya Hutagalung, WWF Earth Hour ambassador and host of Asia’s Next Top Model.

Nadya is the face of the ‘One Degree Up’ campaign in Singapore, as part of Earth Hour’s global ‘I Will If You Will’ initiative, and has pledged to plant 100 baby trees in the Heart of Borneo If 20 shopping centres in Singapore pledge to support the campaign by turning their air conditioners up by one degree.

CEO and Co-Founder of Earth Hour, Andy Ridley, says this year’s ambassadorial support shows the growth of global influence of Asian celebrities.

“Historically international media has not fully acknowledged the power and influence of figures coming out of Asia. You can see this is already changing. The fact that voices from celebrities across the region are so strong shows the power of their influence. After all they represent more than 4 billion people, more than half of the world’s population,” he said.

This Earth Hour, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore is challenging Singaporeans to take action for the environment by turning their air-conditioning up by one degree. According to the National Environment Agency in Singapore, air-conditioning accounts for up to 60% of the electricity bills of buildings in the country.

Joining Nadya in her support of the One Degree Up campaign is Thai media personality and newly appointed Earth Hour ambassador, Utt Panichkul, who has promised to drop one piece of clothing for every 1,000 people who pledge to turn up their air-conditioning by one degree.

In Indonesia, which has recently seen the Earth Hour movement explode to 31 cities across the country, some of the most recognised figures on social media are using their digital presence to inspire actions in the Ini Aksiku! Mana Aksimu? campaign, which is the localised version of Earth Hour’s international I Will If You Will initiative.

Indonesian actress Pevita Pearce has taken up the challenge to sleep without air conditioning for one month and plant 100 trees if 10,000 of her Instagram and Twitter followers share their action for the planet using the hash-tag #dukungAKSIpevita.

Dubbed the “Oprah” of Indonesia, Andy F Noya is a journalist and famous presenter of award winning talk show ‘Kick Andy’. He will paint his face half blue and half green, if 10,000 @kickandyshow followers refuse to use plastic bags and send him their photo as proof.

Indonesian singer Ariel from the band NOAH was next to join the local campaign and has pledged to wear a Panda costume during his one of big concerts after Earth Hour, if 6,000 people plant trees and send their photo to @EHIndonesia using the hash-tag #IniAksiku.

Asia’s Next Top Model contestant Filantropi Witoko is challenging the other 13 finalists of ANTM to refuse plastic bags and bring reusable tumblers wherever they go, and in return will do a solo fashion show during Car Free Day in Jakarta if they accept.

Having last year reached a record 1,671 provinces, cities and municipalities across the country, the Earth Hour movement in the Philippines is also targeting its I Will If You Will campaign specifically for the Filipino community.

Newly-appointed Earth Hour Philippine Ambassador, equestrienne and actress Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, has pledged to contribute 500 seedlings to WWF-Philippines’ agroforestry programme at the Abuan Watershed in Isabela if 500 people agree to quit smoking for 5 days.

She joins WWF-Philippines national ambassadors Rovilson Fernandez, who has pledged to conduct a free CrossFit class if 1000 people pledge to use reusable bags instead of plastics; and Marc Nelson, who has also pledged to kite-board from Boracay Island to the main island of Panay while wearing a Panda hat if 1000 people commit to use reusable water tumblers instead of disposable plastic bottles.

Heading further north, singer /songwriter and actress G.E.M, who was the highest selling female artist in Hong Kong in 2012, has been enlisted as the celebrity judge for WWF-Hong Kong’s Green City Photo Competition and stars in an adorable Earth Hour short film featuring the tagline “Lights Off, Life On”.

WWF Hong Kong’s Earth Hour digital platform also went live last week, and is being promoted with the help of G.E.M, alongside Eason Chan and Kay Tse.

Additionally, WWF-China is encouraging people to take part in Green Week for Earth Hour 2013 by challenging people across China to adopt one of seven environmentally friendly actions as an ongoing practice all year round. The initiative is supported by actress Li Bingbing, singer Eason Chan; singing duo Yu Quan, gymnast Chen Yibing; pianist Li Yundi; singer Li Yunchun; and Taiwanese singer Harlem Yu, who have each chosen a day of the week to share what they’re willing to do to help save the planet.

Taiwan has also just come on board with the global I Will If You Will initiative, and has enlisted support for Earth Hour from stars such as JJ Lin, Amber Kuo, Christine Fan and hugely popular girl group S.H.E.

“Love your planet, don’t just live on it,” was the call from India with actress and singer Shruti Hassan announcing her support as the new Earth Hour ambassador for India.

“It is my honor to be associated with such an inspiring and meaningful cause like Earth Hour. If we aspire for a clean and healthy environment, and for cities that develop sustainably, then we should be aware of our part as well, and be willing to change our own behaviour. Imagine the difference that it will make when all of us get together,” said Hassan at the local media launch in the country.

This year’s focus for India is to encourage people to make the switch to renewable energy, calling for individuals to adopt household products powered by renewable energy; organisations to adopt renewable energy solutions to run their business operations and production processes; and Governments to promote policies favourable to the production and uptake of renewable energy.

Further south in Sri Lanka, one of the country’s biggest music artists Bathiya and Santhush (BNS), will participate in I Will If You Will by pledging to create an Earth Hour song if 10,000 Sri Lankans sign up for earth hour at www.earthhour.lk. They are hoping their song will inspire artists to collaborate to create the world’s first global Earth Hour album.

Earth Hour 2013 will take place at 8.30pm – 9.30pm on Saturday 23 March

About Earth Hour

Earth Hour is a global environmental initiative in partnership with WWF. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday March 23, 2013 at 8:30 PM to show their support for environmentally sustainable action. In 2013, Earth Hour’s I Will If You Will concept invites individuals and organisations to challenge others to an ongoing environmental commitment beyond the hour. Earth Hour began in one city in 2007 and by 2012 involved hundreds of millions of people in 152 countries across every continent, receiving reports as ‘the world’s largest campaign for the planet’.

About WWF

WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organisations, with almost five million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

Source:  www.earthhour.org