雪梨預定3月28日晚間8點半至9點半熄燈1小時，屆時全球數百萬人將同步關燈以節能行動對抗氣候變遷。
這個由世界自然基金會（WWF）提倡的「地球時刻」（Earth Hour）全球活動，主要是希望能集結來自全球1000個城市的1億人口同時熄燈，以傳達出人民想要讓地球保持涼爽的強力訴求。
世界自然基金會執行長李普（James Leape）對「地球時刻」活動持樂觀態度，認為此舉有可能成為促使在氣候變遷議上有所關鍵性決策的驅力。李普表示，「2009年『地球時刻』已逐漸發展成一個前所未有的全球性行動，以透過採取行動來對抗氣候變遷問題。」
2009年對於抑止全球暖化更加嚴重是個關鍵的一年。聯合國氣候變遷會議將於12月份於哥本哈根舉行，屆時各國領袖將齊聚在一起簽署替代京都議定書的新協定。
澳洲於2007年時在雪梨舉行了全球首次熄燈行動，當時可說是小規模城市性的環保活動。到了2008年，全球有35個國家、為數371城市共同參與。而今，「地球時刻」這樣的熄燈行動儼然已成為一個備受全球關注的草根運動。
參與2009年「地球時刻」行動的確定名單中共有37個國家首都以及一些全球最大城市，包括倫敦、北京、羅馬、莫斯科、洛杉磯、里約熱內盧、香港、杜拜、新加坡、雅典、布宜諾斯艾利斯、多倫多、雪梨、墨西哥、伊斯坦堡、哥本哈根、馬尼拉、拉斯維加斯、布魯塞爾、開普敦和赫爾辛基等等。
停泊於雪梨港內的每艘渡輪將會在晚間8點半準時鳴笛，以宣告「地球時刻」的開始。而墨爾本則會在聯邦廣場舉行一場用腳蹬供給電力的音樂會。
各式音樂會與活動同時也將在世界另一端的歐洲各地上演，像雅典就安排了打擊樂器巡迴表演，到時人人手上都會有個打擊樂器，而衛城的燈光也將隨著指揮的帶領熄滅。
在這次的熄燈活動中，紐約帝國大廈、百老匯劇院、華盛頓國家大教堂、拉斯維加斯賭城地帶、倫敦眼、埃及大金字塔及人面獅身像、吉隆坡雙子星塔、里約熱內盧的基督像、開普敦的桌山、新加坡魚尾獅身像、多倫多國家電視塔、卡地夫的千禧大球場、全世界最高的101大樓，以及雪梨歌劇院等全球最醒目的城市地標也都會同步熄燈。
From 8:30 to 9:30 pm local time on Saturday, March 28, hundreds of millions of people around the world will switch off their lights, casting a visual vote for action to curb climate change.
A global initiative of the conservation group WWF, Earth Hour aims to reach one billion people in 1,000 cities around the world, demonstrating the strength of public opinion in favor of keeping the planet cool.
WWF Director General James Leape says he is optimistic about the campaign's potential to drive key decision making on the issue of climate change. "Earth Hour 2009 is setting the platform for an unprecedented global mandate for action on climate change," he said.
This is a critical year for action to limit global warming. World leaders will gather at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December to sign a new deal that will supersede the Kyoto Protocol.
The lights out initiative began in Sydney, Australia in 2007 as a one city environmental campaign. In 2008, 371 cities in 35 countries turned their lights out. Now, Earth Hour has evolved into a grassroots action that has captured the attention of the world.
The list of cities confirming their participation in Earth Hour 2009 includes 37 national capitals and some of the great cities of the world, including London, Beijing, Rome, Moscow, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, Athens, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, Mexico City, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Manila, Las Vegas, Brussels, Cape Town and Helsinki.
In Sydney, every ferry in the harbor will sound its horn at precisely 8:30 pm to herald the start of Earth Hour in Australia, while in Melbourne a people-pedal-powered concert will entertain the crowd at Federation Square.
On the other side of the world, a host of concerts and parties will be staged in cities across Europe, including a "circle of percussion" in Athens, where people will be given percussion instruments to play, led by a conductor, as the lights go out on the Acropolis.
Key landmarks going dark for the event include New York City's Empire State Building and the Broadway theater district, the National Cathedral in Washington, the Las Vegas strip, Niagara Falls, the Eiffel Tower and Elysee Palace in Paris, the London Eye, the Great Pyramids and Sphinx in Egypt, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Table Mountain in Cape Town, Merlion in Singapore, the CN Tower in Toronto, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the world's tallest constructed building Taipei 101, and the Sydney Opera House.
