UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the UN was turning off its lights in solidarity with the men, women and children without access to electricity, and also as a symbol of the UN's commitment to sustainable energy for all.
31 March 2012: The UN observed “Earth Hour” on 31 March by turning off the lights at its New York Headquarters and other facilities around the world, for one hour. Earth Hour was launched in 2007 by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and calls for people, organizations and cities to turn off non-essential lights for an hour.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the UN was turning off its lights in solidarity with the men, women and children “who live with no access to electricity,” and also as “a symbol of our commitment to sustainable energy for all.” According to the UN, in 2011 over 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries observed Earth Hour to show support for action on climate change. [UN Press Release] [UN Greening the Blue Press Release] [Earth Hour website]