Tweede editie campagne 'Switch it off!' voor energiebesparing (en)

After a successful start two years ago, the “Switch it off” programme had its second edition in Budapest on 23 February 2011. The “Switch it off - 2” attitude-forming communication campaign is aimed to draw attention to the negative effects of climate change, and the importance of energy saving, and environmental consciousness.

“In political discourse, energy efficiency appears as a highly expensive, and investment-intensive area. This campaign shows that there is an efficiently and an exceptionally cheap way to save energy: turn off the electric devices you do not use”, said Gábor Baranyai at the press conference. The Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that a reasonable reduction of energy consumption can also be a means of environmental protection. “The ‘Switch it off’ campaign, is not only aimed at information, but also as an encouragement”, said Tamás Szucs, Head of the European Commission’s Representation in Hungary.

The project also involves well-known Hungarian television personalities, and a scholar. They are the “climate ambassadors” whose job is to popularise the programme. This year, Vanda Dombovári, Zsuzsa Demcsák and climate researcher János Mika, will advocate energy saving. Compared to the 2009 campaign, it is a new feature that this years’ programme counts on the cooperation of local authorities to reach citizens through them. Apart from local authorities; NGOs, public libraries and the Europe Direct i Information Centres also participated in the programme.

Civil servants can take part in a programme called “The Greenest Local Government,” and enter an online competition, which was launched for local governments. The participants of the “Loyalty” movement (local governments, NGOs and green organisations) received environment-friendly boards and stickers to show their colleagues and members, their commitment to environmental protection and energy saving.

Enhancing environmental efficiency is one of the priorities of the Europe 2020 Strategy, the European Union’s energy policy strategy. The Union seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 80-95 per cent by 2050, compared to the 1990 level. The ways member states could meet this objective, will be one of the key topics at the informal ministerial meeting on energy, in May.