Brandenburg Gate goes dark for Earth Hour

Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate went dark for an hour on Saturday evening (March 28) alongside other international landmarks to mark Earth Hour, a global campaign to raise awareness of environmental issues.

First launched in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour encourages people to ‘give an hour’ and make a positive impact for planet Earth and is organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Viviane Raddatz, head of climate at WWF Germany, said marking Earth Hour today is as important as it has ever been.

"The climate crisis is actually moving very fast, and we have to be faster to stop it. And that’s why we need the governments of the world to become independent, to drive independence from fossil fuels, so that we can live in a renewable world and stop the climate crisis," Raddatz told Reuters outside the darkened German landmark.

The climate activist urged the German government to halt a rollback of climate protection and environmental policies.

Production: Martin Schlicht, Ulrike Heil/Reuters