Sign up to Earth Hour this Saturday say Lib Dems

12.01.00pm GMT Sat 27th Mar 2010

Liberal Democrats are encouraging people to sign up for Earth Hour this Saturday by switching off their lights for an hour at 8.30pm.

Liberal Democrat Environment spokesman John Field commented "No matter what your views on climate change, the electricity we use to power our homes and businesses is mainly generated by non-renewable fossil fuels. By turning off our lights for one hour we will be showing that we are taking responsibility for the future. Also too often we see empty office blocks lit all night, which must be costing a small fortune. We need to raise awareness of this issue if we are to reduce our energy consumption and consequent carbon emissions."

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the, Sydney Harbour Bridge, The CN Tower in Toronto, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome's Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.

In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world's largest global climate change initiative.