News about global warming and climate change have found their ways to be present on our daily newspapers in almost any part of the world. Twelve hours ago, The Guardian reported that more than half a million could be killed a year globally by 2050 as climate change impacts agriculture and causes malnutrition, according to new research published in the Lancet. Leonardo DiCaprio, winner of the Oscar’s Best Actor Award this year, voiced his concern about climate change in his victory speech, calling it “the most urgent threat facing our entire species.”
Natural disasters and extreme weather are strongly linked to climate change. According to National Geographic, it played a role in 14 of 28 storms, droughts, and other 2014 extreme weather events. Even worse, in 2015, millions of people were forced to leave their home due to devastating climate-induced disasters. US President Obama once put it, “Submerged countries. Abandoned cities. Fields that no longer grow. Political disruptions that trigger new conflict, and even more floods of desperate peoples seeking the sanctuary of nations not their own.”
Today, climate change is no longer a field of study for researchers and scientists alone, but every ordinary man who is aware of what’s happening and the impact it has on our home, Planet Earth. It is no longer an issue for future generations as people are already suffering from its consequences. In order to raise awareness for climate change and encourage people to take action to save the Earth and save ourselves, Gevme invited the Executive Director of Earth Hour Global, Siddarth Das, to speak at the GEVME Xchange 2016, an annual event where we connect event management and event marketing professionals.
After 13 years in the technology industry, Sid joined WWF’s Earth Hour in 2009 first as Chief Information Officer (CIO) leading digital innovation and partnerships and currently as its Executive Director (ED).
Sid leads Earth Hour’s strategy focused on inspiring climate awareness and action in 172 countries and territories.
His talk, From Geosphere to Technosphere – How Technology is Powering Climate Action, took us on a learning journey with Earth Hour, the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment. We learned how leveraging on technology has enabled the Earth Hour initiative to transcend the borders of more than 170 countries and territories to reach millions of people, as well as enable them to take immediate action to #ChangeClimateChange – reversing its negative impact on our lives – by digital donation and participation.
According to Earth Hour 2015 Global Report, the movement had massive reach on digital platforms:
- 500,000+ visits to the website between 27 – 29 March
- 82,012,966 views of the Earth Hour official video and other Earth Hour-related video content between Jan – Mar 2015.
- 70,500+ events created on digital maps
- 2,263,020,876 impressions of official Earth Hour campaign hashtags on Twitter between 27-29 March
- 7.8 million+ digital interactions between 27 – 29 March
Nowadays, technology is the key to successful global events and campaigns. Uniting millions around the world for climate action, Earth Hour is testament to technology power.
For more details on the talk: From Geosphere to Technosphere – How Technology is Powering Climate Action presentation, click here for the slides.
