Earth Hour, a global environmental activity, is going to be launched for the fifth time in over 4,000 cities around the world including 40 Chinese cities on March 31, 2012, according to the Earth Hour Campaign Promotion Conference held by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Beijing on February 27.

Earth Hour is organized by the WWF. On the last Saturday evening of March, individuals and businesses are encouraged to turn their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change. The environmental campaign was initiated in March 2007 in Sydney, Australia. In 2009, the event spread to China and was echoed strongly by the public, businesses and government.

"This year, WWF will hold a lights-out ceremony at the Great Wall in Beijing together with hundreds of volunteers and a number of Chinese superstars," said Allen Chai, Senior Officer of WWF's Earth Hour China.

"This year's campaign is going to appeal to people for broader environmental protection activities in addition to lights out. Earth Hour gives us a green vision of daily lifestyle. It's an opportunity to do something good," he added.

Chai emphasized, "WWF hopes to motivate everyone to observe Earth Hour and its traditions, especially one environmental change. We believe that there is an environmentalist in each of us."

WWF is one of the largest and most respected independent conservation organizations with almost 5 million supporters and a global network in over 100 countries and territories.