The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Sydney

Tens of millions of people switched off lightbulbs this weekend as part of a global campaign to throw the spotlight on climate change, organisers of the Australian-led 'Earth Hour' initiative said.

From Sydney to Asia, Europe, Canada and the US, "many tens of millions" of people flicked the switch on Saturday night, plunging cities, towns and homes into darkness, chief of environmental group WWF-Australia Greg Bourne said.

The event, which was first held in Sydney last year, saw the lights dimmed in major cities at 8:00 pm local time, with skyscrapers, public monuments and private homes plunged into darkness.

Bourne said the response from around the world had been astounding.

While 26 cities are officially signed up for 'Earth Hour', Bourne said the campaign had already stretched well beyond that and that the intention was for the voluntary, 60-minute blackout to be even bigger in 2009.

"In pretty much every country in the world, someone has signed up. Whether it be one, two, three or 3,000 individuals," he told AFP.

"Basically every continent including Antarctica had some involvement and what I think will happen next year is that we will get deeper and deeper involvement in Asia, in Russia.

"We're pretty certain, that when we do it next year, China will become very much more involved," he added.

Earth Hour organisers asked governments, businesses and individuals to switch off the power for one hour on Saturday to save energy and thereby produce fewer greenhouse gases.

Bourne said the campaign was less about making a real reduction in energy usage, and more about increasing public awareness about energy efficiency.

He said indications were that the event had been a success in not only Sydney, where the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House faded into relative darkness, but around the world.

"We had 2.2 million last year; I reckon by the time we finally count it up, we will have about 100 million people involved around the world," he said.

Energy Australia, which supplies much of Sydney's electricity, said a drop of about 8.4 percent in energy usage had been recorded in the city during the hour, equivalent to 1.6 million light bulbs being switched off.