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A combination picture shows the Sydney skyline before (top) and after the lights were turned off for Earth Hour March 28, 2009. [Agencies]
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Lights went out at tourism landmarks and homes across the globe on Saturday for Earth Hour 2009, a global event designed to highlight the threat from climate change.
From the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and London's Houses of Parliament, lights were dimmed as part of a campaign to encourage people to cut energy use and curb greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.
Organizers said the action showed millions of people wanted governments to work out a strong new U.N. deal to fight global warming by the end of 2009, even though the global economic crisis has raised worries about the costs.
"We have been dreaming of a new climate deal for a long time," Kim Carstensen, head of a global climate initiative at the conservation group WWF, said in a candle-lit bar in the German city of Bonn, which hosts U.N. climate talks between March 29 and April 8.
"Now we're no longer so alone with our dream. We're sharing it with all these people switching off their lights," he said.
The UN Climate Panel says greenhouse gas emissions are warming the planet and will lead to more floods, droughts, heatwaves, rising sea levels and animal and plant extinctions.
World emissions have risen by about 70 percent since the 1970s.
Australia first held Earth Hour in 2007 and it went global in 2008, attracting 50 million people, organizers say. WWF, which started the event, is hoping one billion people from nearly 90 countries will take part.
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(Agencies)
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2009年“地球一小時(shí)”活動(dòng)于上周六舉行，當(dāng)晚，世界各地的旅游標(biāo)志性建筑和家家戶戶紛紛熄燈響應(yīng)該活動(dòng)。“地球一小時(shí)”是一項(xiàng)全球范圍的活動(dòng)，旨在讓人們意識(shí)到氣候變化的威脅。
作為號(hào)召人們節(jié)能減排努力的一部分，當(dāng)晚，從悉尼歌劇院、海港大橋到巴黎的埃菲爾鐵塔和倫敦的英國國會(huì)大廈，熄燈行動(dòng)在全球接力。
活動(dòng)主辦方稱，這一行動(dòng)表明很多人希望到今年年底政府能合作制訂一個(gè)強(qiáng)有力的、應(yīng)對(duì)全球變暖的聯(lián)合國新章程——盡管全球經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)加劇了有關(guān)成本的擔(dān)憂。
自然保護(hù)組織世界自然基金會(huì)（WWF）全球氣候項(xiàng)目的負(fù)責(zé)人Kim Carstensen在德國波恩市的一個(gè)用蠟燭照明的酒吧里接受采訪。他說：“我們期盼出臺(tái)應(yīng)對(duì)氣候變化的新協(xié)議已經(jīng)很久了。” 聯(lián)合國氣候變化峰會(huì)于本月29日至下月8日在德國波恩舉行。
他說：“現(xiàn)在我們不再是一個(gè)人戰(zhàn)斗。所有響應(yīng)地球一小時(shí)活動(dòng)的人和我們有著同一個(gè)夢想。”
聯(lián)合國氣候變化工作小組稱，溫室氣體排放造成地球溫度升高，并會(huì)導(dǎo)致洪澇、干旱、酷暑、海平面升高以及動(dòng)植物滅絕等一系列生態(tài)問題。
自上世紀(jì)70年代以來，全球溫室氣體排放量增長了約70%。
據(jù)活動(dòng)主辦方介紹，“地球一小時(shí)”于2007年率先在澳大利亞舉行，2008年發(fā)展為一項(xiàng)全球性的活動(dòng)，當(dāng)年共吸引了5千萬人參加。該活動(dòng)由世界自然基金會(huì)發(fā)起，目標(biāo)是全球近90個(gè)國家的10億人能參與“地球一小時(shí)”活動(dòng)。
相關(guān)閱讀：
“熄燈一小時(shí)”環(huán)保行動(dòng)全球接力
（英語點(diǎn)津姍姍編輯）
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