Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 30th. In the face of the energy crisis, Berlin, the capital of Germany, began to turn off the night lighting of some buildings, and the range of lights out will include many landmarks and historical sites.
AFP quoted Berlin officials as saying on the 28th that on the night of the 27th, the first six landmark buildings turned off the night scene lighting. In the next four weeks, the lights out will be expanded to about 200 buildings, involving 1,400 landscape lights. Berlin City Hall and well-known buildings such as the German State Opera and Charlottenburg Palace are among the “lights out”.
This is Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin (photo taken on May 18, 2011). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ma Ning
An electric service company will turn off 100 to 120 landscape lights a day, but will not remove them. AFP said this shows that the policy is only a stopgap measure to save energy.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said this week that he hoped to lead by example by turning off the lights on the exterior of the presidential palace at night.
December 202017, in Berlin, capital of Germany, two Visitors look at the illuminated German Presidential Palace. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shan Yuqi
After Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine in February, the European Union sanctioned Russia, and European energy costs intensified. German Deputy Chancellor and Minister of Economy and Climate Protection Robert Harbeck said on the 28th of this month that Germany is experiencing “the most serious energy crisis.” The German government has launched a nationwide energy-saving campaign, calling for as little air conditioning as possible, promotion of public transport and the use of energy-saving shower heads. The northern city of Hannover this week announced plans to provide only cold showers in public swimming pools and sports centres. (Wang Xinfang)