A countdown has been launched for Earth Hour 2021 due to take place on March 27 to encourage local people to turn off lights in support of nature, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Ministry requests that cities and provinces co-operate with each other in order to hold activities in response to this year’s Earth Hour campaign.

All residents and various organisations are also being encouraged to participate in the nationwide event to turn off all lights between 20:30 p.m. to 21:30 p.m. as a way of highlighting the cause of environmental protection.

As part of the event, the country will launch activities in response to Earth Hour, with co-ordination from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, along with support from the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN).

Vietnam first joined the Earth Hour campaign in 2009 as part of efforts to meet its commitments to reducing 8% of greenhouse emissions by 2030 in response to global climate change.

Earth Hour is a worldwide movement organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It has been described as the largest global grassroots movement for environmental causes, with the involvement of roughly 7,000 cities across 172 countries and territories.