Lights out for world landmarks in nod to nature

PARIS: World landmarks from the Eiffel Tower to the Empire State Building will go dark this weekend to support the fight against climate change and highlight the dangers mankind poses to nature.

The 11th edition of Earth Hour, an annual bid to raise awareness about climate change caused by burning fossil fuels, will see iconic structures cut the lights at a time when global temperatures are the highest on record.

“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,” Marco Lambertini, general secretary of Earth Hour organisers WWF, told AFP.

This year’s aim is building support for biodiversity by focusing on forests, oceans and wildlife conservation.

“Biodiversity and climate change are two sides of the same coin of the ecological crisis we are facing,” said Lambertini.

“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 striking gesture of some of the planet’s most iconic structures going dark, Earth Hour has achieved tangible environmental feats since its first edition in 2007. — AFP