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This Sunday may be the last time we change the clock!

Tiskové zprávy   |  30.10. 2016

Brussels – On October 30 th the time will be changed again across the whole European Union, despite the fact that these changes have significant negative effects on human health, traffic, and even livestock. A new study by Charles University in Prague confirmed minimum savings associated with daylight savings time, which is estimated to have a value of just one minute of work saved per year. “The original rationale for adopting daylight saving time (DST) was energy savings. Modern research studies, however, question the magnitude and even direction of the effect of DST on energy consumption. Representing the first meta-analysis in this literature, we collected 162 estimates from 44 studies and found out that the reported estimate indicates modest energy savings. Analytics of the Czech Savings Bank calculated that the savings equal the value of only one minute of work per year,” says co-author of the study Zuzana Havrankova Irsova from Charles University in Prague and confirmsthat the time changes are just an anachronism, a relic from the time a few decades ago.

European Union only requires to change at the same time

"Some countries such as the Czech Republic do not want to abandon this practice because they claim to follow the EU guidelines, but the truth is that the EU only requires that the change is executed in the same moment. The final decision whether to change the clock or not is the responsibility of individual Member States,” explains Tomas Zdechovsky, Member of the European Parliament (EPP), who fights for abandonment of the daylight saving time. “Precisely because it is the responsibility of individual countries, it is very important that all Member States agree on abandonment of the daylight saving time jointly in order to counter fight the last arguments of its supporters," adds Zdechovsky. “Our initiative For only one time represents already 22 countries. Our pressure in the European Parliament is getting bigger and therefore we believe we can reach the desired goal in a short time. This may be perhaps the last Sunday when we need to change the clock," concludes Zdechovsky.

For reference please see: Tomas Havranek, Dominik Herman, and Zuzana Irsova (2016), "Does Daylight Saving Save Energy? A Meta-Analysis." Czech National Bank and Charles University, Prague. Available at meta-analysis.cz/dst