Russia skips this year’s Earth Hour. The announcement comes since Moscow earlier in March classified the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as a “foreign agent”. – This year we made the decision to withdraw from this event, says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. During Earth Hour, an international climate demonstration started on the initiative of WWF, people around the world are encouraged to turn off their lights for one hour in order to draw attention to the climate issue. Russia has participated in the event, which this year is held on Saturday, for 14 years. – It is because they (WWF) have become a foreign agent, says Dmitry Peskov. Operating since 1994 WWF has been operating in Russia since 1994. The global non-profit environmental and conservation organization says it will challenge the classification legally. At the same time, it urges supporters to refrain from using the WWF symbol in Russia for security reasons. Climate change has hit Russia hard, with thawing permafrost and severe forest fires in Siberia. See Earth Hour images in the clip above.
t4-general
The world shuts down during Earth Hour – but Russia is wrong
