Lights were turned off at popular tourist sites and homes around the world on Saturday for Earth Hour 2009, a global event meant to bring attention to the dangers of climate change. Landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower, and London's Houses of Parliament dimmed their lights as part of a campaign to encourage people to reduce energy consumption and limit greenhouse gas emissions. Organizers believe that this demonstration illustrates the desire of millions of people for governments to come up with a strong new U.N. agreement to combat global warming by the end of 2009, despite concerns about the costs due to the global economic crisis. Kim Carstensen, who leads a global climate initiative at WWF, expressed hope for a new climate deal during a candle-lit gathering in Bonn, Germany, where U.N. climate talks are being held. He mentioned that they were showing it to everyone who turned off their lights, while delegates and activists drank blue cocktails. The U.N. Climate Panel warns that greenhouse gas emissions are causing global warming, which will result in increased floods, droughts, heatwaves, rising sea levels, and the extinction of various animal and plant species. Global emissions have increased by approximately 70% since the 1970s. China has surpassed the United States as the largest emitter, followed by the European Union, Russia, and India. The U.N. Climate Panel is calling for rich nations to reduce their emissions to 25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020 to prevent the worst effects of global warming. Developing nations must also curb their emissions by 2020. Earth Hour, initiated by Australia in 2007 and expanded globally in 2008, drew 50 million participants. WWF, the organization behind the event, aims to involve one billion people from almost 90 countries. "The main reason we participate in Earth Hour is to encourage people to consider how they can reduce their carbon footprint, even if only for an hour, and hopefully continue to make changes beyond that hour," said Andy Ridley, the executive director of Earth Hour, during a press conference at Bondi Beach in Sydney. In Asia, famous landmarks in China, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines dimmed their lights as people enjoyed candle-lit picnics and concerts. In Singapore, buildings in the business district and major landmarks like the Singapore Flyer turned off their lights. Other iconic landmarks around the world that participated in Earth Hour included the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the Reserve Bank in Mumbai, the dome of St Peter's Basilica in Rome, the Great Pyramids in Egypt, and the Acropolis in Athens.