Millions of people around the world are observing the annual Earth Hour to raise awareness about climate change. Dubai and Australia's Sydney Opera House were among the places to join the blackout.
Italian Earth Hour in RomeImage: Getty Images/AFP/V. Pinto
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People around the world are turning off their lights for one hour on Saturday as part of the annual Earth Hour campaign, which aims to raise awareness about climate change caused by burning fossil fuels.
The 11th edition of Earth Hour aims to build support for biodiversity by focusing on forests, oceans and wildlife conservation. In addition, the environmentalists want to promote species protection this year.
Dubai Earth Hour celebrates with candlesImage: Getty Images/AFP/G. Cacace
Australia, where the first edition of Earth Hour was held in 2007, was the first to turn off the lights on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. local time (0930 UTC). Other countries followed the path of sunset across the globe. Millions of people in 7,000 cities, across 187 countries, were expected to take part in the campaign.
Earth Hour Sydney Opera House
Among the global landmarks going dark are Beijing's Bird's Nest Olympic stadium, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Pyramids of Egypt and New York's Empire State Building.
In Australia, this year's Earth Hour focused on raising awareness of the four so-called "hero species" — green turtles, koalas, rock wallabies and penguins — while the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge plunged into darkness.
In Berlin, the lights will go out at the Brandenburg Gate, and in Paris, the Eiffel Tower will be without illumination.
"Climate change is a major threat to the stability of the planet and our livelihood and society, but climate change is only a component of the broader ecological crisis," said Marco Lambertini, director general of Earth Hour organizers WWF (World Wide Fund For Nature).
"Biodiversity and climate change are two sides of the same coin of the ecological crisis we are facing," Lambertini told AFP news agency.
US President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the global Paris climate agreement last year has sparked concerns about the protection of the world's climate. The WWF said it was hopeful that by participating in Earth Hour, young people in the US could send a message that the government needs to tackle global warming.
"Right now, deforestation, pollution, extinction are only impacting people on a sentimental level," said Lambertini. "People are sad about nature loss and animal extinction ... actually we need to be worried about it. Being sad is not enough."
Apart from the largely symbolic blackout around the world, the Earth Hour campaign has achieved some tangible feats, including a ban on plastics in the Galapagos Islands and tree plantations in many countries.
Dianna Ali, who was having dinner with her family in Sydney as the lights went off, said the initiative had made her more aware of the impact her lifestyle has on the planet's health.
"Since Earth Hour started, it's made me more conscious of how much power I'm using," she said. "I think... about how much one individual can make a difference."
What went right for the environment in 2017?
With extreme weather events and climate enemies like Donald Trump, 2017 wasn't exactly a great year for the planet. But there were also reasons to be optimistic. Let's start 2018 by looking back at some of the good news.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Bye bye, diesel
Countries such as India, France and the United Kingdom have pledged to move away from gas and diesel cars in favor of less-polluting options, such as electric vehicles. Even China, the world's largest car market, is developing a plan to ban the production and sale of vehicles that rely purely on fossil fuels. 2018 could be an important year in the shift toward cleaner transportation.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/McPHOTOs
Hope for bees
Bees are among the world's greatest pollinators and help plants to reproduce. They play a vital role for the Earth's ecosystem — but they're struggling to survive. Insecticides called neonicotinoids have been identified as a major threat, but the European Commission has proposed a complete ban of three of the most harmful neonicotinoids. There is still much work to do, but it's a first step.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Pleul
A decarbonized future
The move to phase out coal has been at the forefront of environmental protests this year in countries that still largely rely on the fuel, like Germany. Several EU members have pledged to eliminate the use of coal for power by 2030 at the latest. All of the EU national energy companies — except for Poland and Greece — have agreed that no new coal-fired plants will be built in the EU after 2020.
Image: DW
Waste reduction
In 2017, more than 200 countries promised to join their efforts to end marine plastic pollution, one of the world's biggest environmental problems. UN member states have pledged to take action to prevent the spread of marine litter and microplastics. At the same time, the EU has agreed on stricter regulations regarding e-waste and planned obsolescence.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot
Who cares about Trump?
Donald Trump's constant attacks on climate have had some positive effects. How? By motivating people and companies across the US to stand up and pledge to act at the local level. At the COP23 climate conference in November, California Governor Jerry Brown maintained the president's decisions won't stop US citizens from fighting climate change. Massive marches against Trump's measures were proof.
Image: Reuters/W. Rattay
Climate savior
French President Emmanuel Macron has boosted the fight against climate change in Europe. His actions might be symbolic, but they are bringing environmental topics to the fore. He has given grants to 18 climate scientists — Americans in particular — to move their work to France for between three to five years, in defiance of Trump's anti-climate stance.
Image: Getty ImagesAFP/P. Wojazer
Small steps
Millions of people are making positive changes in their daily lives that never make the headlines. These small actions lead to bigger ones — and can lead to significant progress. A few examples: on Fiji's Mamanuca Islands, a coral growing project is improving the health of coral reefs, while conservation groups in Niger are pushing to establish a protected area for endangered giraffes.
Image: Getty Images/C.De Souza
Optimism for our planet
The first Conservation Optimism Summit, held in the UK in April, celebrated success stories. Participants were reminded, for instance, that lynxes are successfully being reintroduced in Central Europe, or that the tiger population has increased in India for the first time in a century. Faced with global challenges, the summit's goal is to "create a positive vision for the future."
