Fewer lights off for Earth Hour

Organisers of Earth Hour in New Zealand are claiming a shining success for this year's event, despite fewer New Zealanders apparently switching off their lights last night than last year.

National power grid operator Transpower reported power consumption was down 2 percent for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-sponsored climate change awareness event, compared to the 3.5 percent savings recorded last year.

The hour, which took place between 8.30pm and 9.30pm yesterday, was the fourth of the annual awareness days to take place since it started in Sydney in 2007.

Kiwi landmarks including Auckland's Sky Tower, Wellington's Beehive, Paeroa's L&P bottle and Te Puke's giant Kiwifruit all turned off their lights, along with other places of note including the Pyramids, Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Acropolis.

The government of Tuvalu turned off power for the whole of the low-lying country.

WWF New Zealand spokesman Jenny Riches said this year's event was a record breaker, with 126 countries and territories taking part, up from 88 in 2009. More than 4000 cities, towns and municipalities, 1200 more than last year, participated.

Forty-seven cities, towns and rural districts in New Zealand took part in Earth Hour, up on 44 in 2009.

It was not ideal to compare this year with last as the 3.5 percent achieved last year came on a warmer night, Ms Riches said.

"We never said it was about the amount of power saved over an hour, that's pointless. It's a symbolic act . When millions take action, look at amount of global power we can harness."

WWF New Zealand executive director Chris Howe said Earth Hour was about taking a stand and uniting with millions of people worldwide who cared about the future of the planet.

"Earth Hour provides a global platform for millions of people to voice their concern about the devastating effects of climate change.

"This year, with more countries and cities on board, Earth Hour is shaping up to be a truly global success. It's a visible demonstration of the enormous level of support there is around the world, for a united effort to tackle climate change.

"Thank you to all the thousands of New Zealanders for switching off for Earth Hour and being part of an incredibly powerful call for action on climate change."

It was too early to say how many people took part nationwide. A poll would estimate how many people took part and the results would be available at the end of April.

- NZPA