Kremlin opts out of WWF’s Earth Hour over organisation’s ‘foreign agent’ label

The Kremlin will not participate in Earth Hour, a WWF campaign that aims to reduce electricity consumption and draw attention to environmental issues, in 2023 since the WWF has been labelled as a foreign agent in Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“We have decided against taking part in this campaign this year. <…> It is because they [WWF] have been designated foreign agents,” he said as quoted by TASS.

Earth Hour is held annually and will take place on 25 March in 2023. Participants are encouraged to turn off lights and home appliances for one hour, while the most iconic sights around the world go dark.

Russia has been participating in the event since 2009, the Moscow Kremlin has turned its lights off every year since 2013.

The Russian Justice Ministry slapped WWF with a “foreign agent” label on 10 March.