Welcome to the Earth Hour global community!

In February, Earth Hour launched the 'I Will If You Will' campaign in collaboration with YouTube, as a challenge to our global community to go beyond the hour and take an ongoing positive action for the environment. Ambassadors, individuals, businesses and governments all created video challenges in the lead up to Earth Hour 2012, telling the world what they'd be willing to do to save the planet. Mllions of people visited the I Will If You Will platform on YouTube, with more than 200,000 people accepting challenges like recycling, giving up plastic, taking action to protect the Amazon, using more public transport and supporting reforestation.

 In February, international supermodel Miranda Kerr was recruited as a global ambassador for Earth Hour. Miranda said she'd host a free yoga class if 500 people uploaded their own I Will If You Will challenge to YouTube.com/EarthHour, and also challenged the whole KORA Organics team to offset the carbon emissions from their flights. Miranda completed her IWIYW challenge in August, hosting a yoga class for more than 200 people in Sydney who did their own challenges for Earth Hour 2012. Colombian television presenter Claudia Bahamón, Asia's Next Top Model host Nadya Hutagalung, Universal Pictures and the Lorax and actress Isabel Lucas were amoung other celebrities who took part in the campaign.

Earth Hour 2012 reached 7001 cities and towns across 152 countries and territories, making it the biggest growth year for the campaign since 2009. The campaign saw unprecedented growth in Asia, with the Philippines again breaking its record for number of participating cities (1,671) and South Korea being named the fastest growing Earth Hour country, with more than 2 million households switching off in 2012. (Image Diandian.com/Zhang Jiawei, WWF-China)

This year's inspirational story came from Libya, after two teenagers in the country separately contacted the Earth Hour Global team willing to put on the country's first Earth Hour event. Just months after the end of the Libyan uprising, the organisers joined forces and worked with the country's scout group to organise switch off events in the country's capitol of Tripoli and even in the city of Benghazi. (Image: Earth Hour Libya)

For the first time, Earth Hour was observed from space with Andre Kuipers tweeting and sharing images from the International Space Station as the hour of inspiration passed over the world. Kuipers has a unique perspective on our planet - seeing it from 400 kilometres above the surface means he can see where, how and why our planet is changing. From space, he sees the forest fires, the air pollution, the erosion... but also the beauty, the wonder and every part worth protecting. We thought that was something worth sharing with the world this Earth Hour, as a reminder of why it's important to celebrate the one thing that unites us all - the planet. (Image ESA/NASA)

The Earth Hour City Challenge is launched for 2012/13 and sees a total of 78 cities from 6 countries vie for the title of the world's urban climate champion. Cities from across Canada, India, Italy, Sweden, Norway and the US will receive resources for their efforts to curb carbon pollution and work towards sustainable development. As cities are responsible for over 70% of global CO2 emissions, the Earth Hour City Challenge has become a major project to reimagine sustainability in the world's urban centres.

Earth Hour premiered its Official Video for 2013 in October, with David Guetta’s “Without You” featuring Usher revealed as the highly anticipated soundtrack for the world’s largest campaign for the planet. The video features some of the best crowd-sourced footage from the lights off events in 2012, and introduces I Will If You Will as the mechanism for which individuals, organisations, ambassadors, corporates and governments can take the passion of Earth Hour, beyond the hour.

Indonesia relaunched its 2013 campaign, continuing on the success of "Ini Aksiku! Mana Aksimu?", the localised version of I Will If You Will. The country was one of the fastest growing in 2012 for Earth Hour, successfully spreading the movement all 28 cities across the archipelago. Empowering communities to take ownership of the campaign, WWF-Indonesia and the Earth Hour teams use Twitter as an organising tool to mobilise citizens to take action beyond the hour. (Image: WWF-Indonesia-Earth Hour Solo)

In one of the biggest Earth Hour outcomes in history, WWF-Russia saw the passing of legislation to protect its seas from oil pollution thanks to a petition promoted through the I Will If You Will campaign for Earth Hour 2012. Celebrities and staff members from WWF-Russia created video challenges about what they'd be willing to do if 100,000 signatures were gathered for the petition. The team was able to generated 122,000 signatures in just 3 weeks, and presented the petition to the State Duma, which then passed a strengthened law in mid-December.

Earth Hour 2012 was supported around the world by global ambassador Miranda Kerr, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, the United Nations, Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo, former Vice President Al Gore, the President of Fiji Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, André Kuipers and the International Space Station, CBRE, the National Hockey League, FIFA, UEFA, Manchester United, Hilton Hotels, Girl Scouts of the USA, World Organisation of the Scouts Movement, UNESCO, UN Environment Programme, the International Trade Union Confederation, HSBC, World Association of the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, Universal Pictures and the Lorax, actress Isabel Lucas, TV stars Bill and Giuliana Rancic, Colombian television presenter Claudia Bahamón and many more.

Landmarks that switched off included the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Tokyo Tower, Taipei 101, Great Wall Of China, Beijing National Stadium (Bird's Nest), Orchard Road Singapore, Lumbini Sacred Garden, Gateway of India, The BurjKhalifa, The Libyan Museum, Table Mountain, National Library of Belarus, Dubrovnik city walls, Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Brandenburg Gate, Allianz Arena, Tower of Pisa, The Cupola of St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, The UK Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Christ the Redeemer Statue, CN Tower, Las Vegas Strip, Times Square, Empire State Building, The UN Headquarters and more.