This year’s Earth Hour falls on Saturday 23 March and the event’s main theme calls on Australians to “switch off for good and switch over to renewable energy”.
A related national survey of 1,283 Australians commissioned by WWF-Australia for Earth Hour shows 87% want more action by all sectors, including government, to make Australia a top ten producer of renewable energy.
Currently, Australia is ranked no. 31 – and two-thirds of those surveyed believe the nation would be ranked better.
It seems the Aussie public’s spirit is certainly willing to see Australia become a renewables powerhouse, but political will is still a little weak. The survey revealed participants believe renewable energy should account for 27% of our total energy mix by 2020; 35% more than the current national target of 20%.
Ms. Caught says it’s time Australia’s political leaders set ambitious targets and expand renewables, not hold them back.
“For every million households that switch to renewables that’s equivalent to taking 2.1 million cars off our roads or planting over 6 million trees,” says Earth Hour spokesperson, Kellie Caught.
Price still remains a barrier to going solar for many it seems; although the cost of a solar power system has fallen dramatically in the past few years, even with reduced rebates and incentives; plus the advent of solar leasing and payment plans meaning that little in the way of up-front payment is required.
On Saturday; Australians are being asked to turn off their lights for one hour from 8.30pm to make a statement against climate change and as a showing of support for renewables.
Originally a one-city initiative in Sydney in 2007 involving two million individuals and 2,000 businesses, Earth Hour now occurs in more than 6,950 cities and towns in 152 countries and territories around the world.
