Turn off the lights for Earth Hour
Companies and public asked to do their part tonight
ABU DHABI // As the lights go off around the world tonight for Earth Hour, potentially 500,000 kilowatt hours of energy will be saved – the equivalent of energy use in 50,000 homes a year.
Each year, the Emirates Wildlife Society, in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), attempts to encourage residents and businesses to engage in environmentally friendly practices and save energy. “WWF’s Earth Hour is the world’s largest grassroots environmental movement towards action on climate change and involves a simple action: switching off the lights for one hour between 8.30pm and 9.30pm every year on March 25,” said its website.
The organisation is asking residents and businesses to commit to the action. Individuals can sign up and promote the switch- off by spreading word of their commitment on social media.
Businesses can do the same, and many of the biggest brands in the UAE have signed up not only for Earth Hour but to repeat it weekly for the rest of the year. Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) said on Thursday that it began practising for Earth Hour in November. In three months, it has saved 24,395kwh of electricity and reduced its CO2 emissions by 10,297 kilograms. Over the past nine years, EGA’s participation in Earth Hour has delivered more than 188,186kwh of electricity savings in total. Since Earth Hour began in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, more than 80 tonnes of CO2 emissions have been saved.
Majid Al Futtaim will also be taking part. Businesses under the brand will turn to “power-saving mode” and encourage the public to turn off their appliances for an hour tonight.
Those looking to share their experience can post it on social media with the hashtag #earthhourUAE and visit the website, earthhour.uae.panda.org.