It's that time of year again: on Sunday, October 27, Europeans will be setting their clocks back by one hour. The end of Daylight Saving Time (DST) means an extra hour in bed and brighter mornings. However, evenings will get darker more quickly, with sunset in London occurring at a discouraging 4:42 PM on Sunday.

For years, the EU has debated the elimination of DST, partly due to the limited energy savings associated with changing the clocks. In 2018, the European Commission proposed officially abolishing the twice-a-year clock changes, and Parliament backed this proposal in a resolution in March 2019. This followed a public consultation by the Commission that showed strong support from 4.6 million EU citizens for scrapping DST.

The changes were intended to be implemented by 2021 but have been stalled with the EU's co-legislator, the Council of the European Union, which represents the 27 Member States. The Member States remain divided on how to practically implement the change.

One of the most significant unanswered questions is whether DST actually reduces energy consumption. Several studies have found that DST's environmental impact is negligible or even negative. So, is it time to end seasonal clock changes?

Why was Daylight Saving Time introduced in Europe?

In the UK and Germany, DST was introduced to conserve coal during World War I. It was abolished after the war but returned in the 1980s when the need to save resources resurfaced due to the global oil crisis. Since 2002, all countries in the European Union—except Iceland—have adjusted their clocks on the last Sunday of March and October.

Does Daylight Saving Time reduce energy consumption?

Several studies in Europe and the US show that DST has very little effect on energy conservation. In Italy, the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine calculated that postponing the clock change from the end of October to the end of November could save the country €70 million in fuel bills.

A study by researchers at Charles University in Prague, using hourly data from 2010 to 2017, found that DST in Slovakia resulted in estimated energy savings of only 0.8 percent of annual electricity consumption.

In the US, a study conducted by the Department of Transportation in 1975 showed that Daylight Saving Time reduced around 1 percent of the country's energy usage. This minor saving might be due, in part, to many people getting out of bed before 7 AM. The energy saved by not having lights on in the evening was largely offset by needing them on in the morning.

A 1993 publication on fuel (gas and coal) consumption in France and Belgium observed an increase in fuel consumption during DST due to extra driving. This finding was supported by studies on pollutant dispersion.

Instead, aligning natural time zones closely with solar time may better synchronize daily light and temperature curves with our schedules. This alignment could lead to energy savings in early morning industrial lighting and heating during colder months as people leave for work an hour later, reducing the need for air conditioning in cars and homes in the evening.

Will Europe stop changing its clocks?

In 2023, experts urged the Council of the European Union to add the issue of abolishing clock changes to its agenda. Advocates had hoped for a resolution before June's EU Parliament elections. In March, Anna Cavazzini, chair of the European Parliament internal market committee and a German Green MEP, called for countries to reach a common position on the matter.

"At the end of this legislative period, it is unfortunately clear that the abolition of the time change has become a non-starter in the Council," she stated. "To avoid further frustration, the Council must finally untie the Gordian knot of the member states' divergent opinions and take a position."

However, reaching a consensus proved difficult, and the DST issue appears to have returned to the backburner. This is despite campaigns from the Time Use Initiative, which launched an EU Manifesto on Time Policies that outlines necessary changes to ensure the "right to time" for all Europeans.

"The EU must respond to the negative impact of misaligned clocks by implementing permanent time zones as close as possible to solar time (natural time) in Europe," the manifesto states. "Misaligned clocks that cause schedules to start earlier than the natural day-night cycle increase sleep deprivation and negatively affect human health, economy, and safety. The EU has the power to effect this change."