Sydney is at the forefront of the campaign to shut down electricity for the environment

Australia's largest city will sink into darkness within an hour on March 31 to raise public awareness about global warming.

Sydney is the first city in the world to do this. If successful, a series of major cities in the countries will learn the action. The cessation of electricity use is part of an effort to cut greenhouse gases, the cause of climate change, the international conservation group WWF said.

Under the plan, electric lights in buildings in Sydney's central business district, city symbols such as Harbor Bridge, Opera House and tens of thousands of other houses will be turned off.

"Earth Hour" will start from 7:30 pm (16:30 PM) on March 31, and is expected to be carried out for 10 months according to the agreement between the Sydney city government, businesses and major newspapers. with WWF. Thousands of businesses, including a host of prominent companies in the Australian stock market and even McDonald's, promised to respond to the plan. McDonald announced that he would turn off the "Golden Arches" sign.

"The initial commitment is that we will turn off the power for an hour and move forward to set a target of 5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions next year," said WWF Australia director of communications Andy Ridley.

About 27,000 Sydney households have subscribed to the plan online. Some restaurants also made similar commitments and promised to serve candlelight dinners.

Last month, Paris also carried out the same campaign, turning off the electricity in the capital for 5 minutes, and turning off the flash on the Eiffel Tower.

Hoai Linh