At 8.30pm on Saturday (24 March), lights will be switched off for one hour around the world to mark Earth Hour, the world’s largest event to protect the planet. The period of darkness is designed to raise awareness of the environmental challenges we face and what we can do to tackle them.
Last year, more than nine million people took part in the UK alone, with iconic landmarks including Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Blackpool Tower, The Kelpies, Brighton Pier, Cardiff Castle and more switching off their lights for the event, which is run by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
While turning off your lights for an hour is a great way to show support for sustainable living, cutting down your electricity usage year-round could really limit the impacts of climate change, says Gareth Redmond-King, head of climate and energy at WWF.
“Our planet is at breaking point, we’re living beyond our means and doing huge damage to the nature and wildlife who rely on the Earth for their survival too,” he tells HuffPost UK. “The UK has done a huge amount to clean up our electricity - around a third now comes from renewables. But power and energy we use in our homes and businesses still rely on fossil fuels and so we’re pumping more and more C02 into the atmosphere.”
The theme of this year’s Earth Hour is #PromiseForThePlanet, encouraging members of the public to make a pledge to take one step in their lives to reduce their environmental footprint. Why not make your pledge a promise to cut your electricity usage beyond Earth Hour, by following one - or all - of the tips below?