Home › PYQs › Environment › All questions › 2014 · Earth Hour
UPSC Prelims 2014 · Environment · Rules for the Planet
Consider the following statements regarding 'Earth Hour': Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- It is an initiative of UNEP and UNESCO.
- It is a movement in which the participants switch off the lights for one hour on a certain day every year.
- It is a movement to raise the awareness about the climate change and the need to save the planet.
- (a) 1 and 3 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) 2 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (c) 2 and 3 only
Lights off for an hour, to raise climate awareness — a WWF campaign.
Statement by statement
1. ✗ WRONG Earth Hour is run by WWF (started in Sydney, 2007) — not UNEP and UNESCO.
2. ✓ CORRECT Lights are switched off for one hour on a Saturday in late March every year.
3. ✓ CORRECT It raises awareness about climate change and protecting the planet.
The idea
Earth Hour is a symbol, not an energy-saving scheme. The power saved in one hour is small. The aim is that millions of people do one visible act together and talk about climate change.
Sydney, 2007: one city switches off → WWF takes it to other countries → Homes and famous buildings go dark for an hour → News and conversation follow → Awareness grows
The trap
Global awareness days sound like UN events. This one is WWF’s.
Elimination technique
Statement 1 is a parentage claim (“an initiative of UNEP and UNESCO”). Such claims are usually false in Environment PYQs. Dropping it leaves (b) and (c).
Also know
Do not mix the days: Earth Hour = WWF, a Saturday in late March. Earth Day = 22 April, a citizens’ movement since 1970. World Environment Day = 5 June, led by UNEP. Earth Overshoot Day = worked out by the Global Footprint Network. WWF also publishes the Living Planet Report.
🔒 Earth Hour = WWF, a Saturday in late March (usually the last one), 8:30–9:30 pm.