Earth Hour Criticised

Cities around the world darkened their lights this weekend as millions of people across the globe powered down for an hour in protest against climate change.

Earth Hour was started in Sydney in 2007 by environmental campaigners seeking to cut energy use.

Now in its third year, the scheme aims to push the weight of public opinion against climate change onto the world’s decision makers who are meeting in Copenhagen later this year to decide on how the world will fight global warming.

Over 3,000 towns and cities in 88 countries took part in this year’s Earth Hour, nearly a 1,000% increase compared to the 370 cities who took part last year.

Critics, however, said the hour was little more than ‘empty symbolism’.

Danish professor Bjorn Lomborg said candles used whilst the lights were down would burn more energy than electric lights would have.

Lomborg, director of the Copenhagen Consensus Centre think-tank, said: “Even if a billion people turn off their lights this Saturday the entire event will be equivalent to switching off China’s emissions for six short seconds.

“Moreover, candles produce indoor air pollution 10 to 100 times the level of pollution caused by all cars, industry and electricity production.

“If you use one candle for each extinguished globe you’re essentially not cutting CO2 at all, and with two candles you’ll emit more CO2.”

In response, the event’s organisers acknowledged that Earth Hour is largely a symbolic and awareness raising act, and is not primarily intended to save energy.