Earth hour energy impact

Abstract

Earth Hour is an awareness event that encourages turning off lights and other non-essential energy sources for an hour in March. Advocating to bring attention to the impact of climate change and to reflect on the actions individuals can take to alleviate its effects, this study aimed to assess whether the event resulted in any significant reductions in energy consumption. Examined at both a state wide and residential level in New South Wales, the results of this study determined that at a state level it was extremely difficult to observe any notable impact. At a residential level however the influence of Earth Hour is much more prevalent with the event being seen to slowly gain momentum resulting in significant reductions between the years of 2008 to 2012. In recent years however its popularity has declined and the event has ceased to have any significant reduction in consumption.