UAE | Environment
Country gears up for Earth Hour
People urged to switch off lights Saturday at 8.30pm and reduce carbon footprint
- By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 March 26, 2010
- Image Credit: Karen Dias/XPRESS
- Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak announces that Earth Hour is set for tomorrow while flanked by officials from various local agencies.
Dubai: When the lights go out at 8.30pm Saturday, residents will be able to take part in a lantern parade with friends and family to prove that small actions can make a huge difference in tackling climate change.
And since you'll be out, why not switch off the air conditioning as well.
Using fewer resources on a day to day basis can go a long way in saving money and reducing a community's carbon footprint.
Many buildings and landmarks in the country will turn off their floodlights, sinking the emirate into near-darkness, as they participate in the Earth Hour event that will be observed in nearly 100 countries.
Earth Hour is a global WWF climate change initiative. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn off their lights for one hour to show their support for action on climate change.
The event began in Sydney in 2007, when two million people switched off their lights. In 2009, participation swelled to hundreds of millions as 4,159 cities, towns and municipalities across 88 countries joined in.
The Burj Khalifa, Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Grand Mosque, Emirates Palace, Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Emirates Towers and other landmarks will join the cause on Saturday.
"The actions shown by business and community leaders are crucial to leading a low-carbon resolution to climate change," said Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, EWS-WWF managing director in a statement.
Meanwhile WAM reported that mosques in the UAE will turn off their lights in solidarity with the "Earth Hour" campaign.
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