Christie’s International announced the third annual Green Auction: BID to Save the Earth, to be hosted by Christie’s at Rockefeller Center on April 11, 2012, just two weeks before Earth Day, Art Daily reported.

A world-class companion auction powered by charity buzz will run online from March 29 to April 19. The Green Auction is a borderless collaboration of individuals, organizations, and businesses who are engaged, in spirit and action, in the protection and conservation of the environment. Initiated in 2010 by Christie’s, the star-studded affair is expected to raise significant proceeds for four of the world’s leading environmental nonprofits – Oceana, Conservation International (CI), Central Park Conservancy (CPC), and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) – specifically to benefit water-conservation projects central to each organization.

The 2012 Green Auction, generously supported by JW Marriott, will be co-chaired by Graydon and Anna Carter, James R. Hedges IV, François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek, and David and Susan Rockefeller, with a live musical performance by Grace Potter of Grace Potter & the Nocturnals and overall support from a host committee comprised of New York’s most influential environmentalists, celebrities and philanthropists.

“We must all take responsibility to protect the natural world for future generations,” said co-chair Susan Rockefeller. “Everyone can help support Christie’s Green Auction, which delivers a global message about the relevance and necessity to take action and participate in conserving the planet’s precious and finite resources.”

The choice to focus this year’s theme on water stemmed from each organization’s notion that water is the source of life, and there are simple methods anyone can follow to play a part in preserving it. The goal of the Green Auction is to raise awareness and funds for the large-scale earth-saving initiatives programmed by each non-profit, as well as to demonstrate how easy it can be to act green in everyday routines.

“Our ocean waters, which cover 70% of this blue planet, are hovering on the brink of an irreversible collapse, with 90% of the ocean’s big fish gone,” said Andrew Sharpless, Chief Executive Officer of Oceana. “This means an irreplaceable source of food and protein for over a billion people today – and potentially billions more in the future. Luckily, history and science show us that our oceans can rebound if we put in place and enforce sensible policies.”