The Earth Hour is “above all a symbolic initiative”, declares Saturday March 26 on franceinfo the program manager of WWF France Arnaud Gauffier. Every year, this international day invites you to turn off the lights for one hour, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (Saturday evening in France) to “to make us aware of the impact we have on the climate”. Arnaud Gauffier also explains that “the best way to limit your electricity consumption” today is “don’t watch too many streaming videos”.
franceinfo: Does this initiative have a real impact?
Arnaud Gauffier : It is above all a symbolic initiative since in France, for example, public or private lighting represents barely 10% of electricity consumption. It is therefore clearly not by turning off the light for an hour that we will have a strong impact on the climate. It is above all a means of raising awareness. The idea is really to make us aware of the impact we have on the climate and also not to forget issues such as biodiversity.
Precisely, what impact can light pollution have on animals?
Light pollution is a real issue in developed countries. It completely disrupts animals, especially bats or owls, and their life cycles. What is interesting today is that there are more and more municipalities that turn off the lights after a certain time. We must preserve areas of black in France, just to find the stars. In much of Western Europe today, humans no longer see them at night.
Is it more complicated to do in the capitals?
There are obviously public safety issues. But tonight, for Earth Hour, there are still big cities that will play the game like the city of Lyon which will turn off more than 300 monuments and public buildings. In Paris, as every year, there will be the Eiffel Tower, but also the Louvre and the Château de Chantilly further north. Some restaurateurs will also play the game by offering their customers to turn off the lights and dine for an hour by candlelight.
Is there another easy gesture to have a positive impact on the climate?
The best way to limit your power consumption is to limit your data consumption and therefore not watch too many streaming videos. Netflix, Amazon or Disney+ in 4K is really not ideal for limiting greenhouse gas consumption. To limit its impact, you can also limit the definition of the videos.