An hour of darkness offers hope for climate

IN a bid to further raise awareness of the planet’s climate emergency, WWF Australia is encouraging homes and businesses to participate in Earth Hour this Saturday.

One in three people across the country are predicted to participate in the movement where lights are turned off for 60 minutes, encouraging conversations about sustainability, behavioural change surrounding the use of power, and support for renewable energies.

Ballarat Renewable Energy and Zero Emissions president Mary Debrett said Earth Hour is a significant, symbolic evening.

“It raises awareness of the importance of cutting emissions, with the idea being that if you turn off your lights, you can save energy,” she said.

“But, it’s more of a symbol of the sort of darkness that’s going to befall us, with the really dire consequences of climate change, as opposed to just the lack of light.

“It’s a dark world that we’re heading towards if we don’t act on climate in accordance to the advice of science and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.”

Ms Debrett said the planet has only got nine years left if the world’s population wants to keep global warming to within 1.5 degrees, and “we’ve got a long way to go” to achieve zero emissions by 2050.

People can take larger or simpler actions to reduce their emissions, switching to renewable energy, or by having more energy efficient appliances and lighting, like LEDs.

“Retro-fitting your home can make it more ecologically sustainable. We can all do something, it’s important we spread the word about that, and that’s something Earth Hour does.

“We’re very much in favour of renewable energy at BREAZE. You can still have power with no emissions,” she said.

Earth Hour is this Saturday, 27 March from 8.30pm. Head to earthhour.org.au to register your participation.