Abu Dhabi: Three leading footballers in the capital autographed 100 footballs on Sunday in a special mission to prompt residents to turn off lights when not in use. "If all residents in the UAE switch off a bulb for an hour a day, it will result in a saving of 700 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions which equals taking 400 cars off the roads," a senior official told Gulf News on the sidelines of the ‘Turn it Off!' campaign.
The Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) launched the second phase of the campaign at Al Wahda Mall in Abu Dhabi, which will encourage its shoppers to turn off all lights and appliances when not in use. The campaign was first launched in October 2010.
"We roped in footballers for the campaign because the people, especially youngsters, will pay attention to them," Eduardo Gonçalves, Director, Environment Awareness Sector at EAD, said. Three leading players of Al Wahda Football Club in the capital — Esmail Mattar, Abdul Rahim Juma and Hamdan Al Kamali were present at the mall and distributed 100 campaign-branded autographed footballs. The campaign features symbolic three-dimensional installations, such as giant light bulbs and switches.
Installations
These symbolic installations were first placed at Abu Dhabi International Airport (ADIA) and it is estimated that they have been seen by nearly five million people to date. These installations will now be seen by shoppers at Al Wahda Mall.
Goncalves said: "Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan once said conservation of the environment is not and must not be seen as a matter only for government or officials but rather as something that concerns us all and is the responsibility of each and every member of our society, both UAE nationals and residents."
Mohammad Nauman Thakur, General Manager of Al Wahda Mall, said: "At Al Wahda Mall, we see it as our social responsibility to engage with the community which we serve."
On March 26, EAD is asking people in the UAE to observe the international ‘Earth Hour' event by turning off the lights for one hour at 2030 UAE time.
At a glance
- 400 cars emit 700 tonnes of carbon dioxide
- 5m people received messages for campaign
- One bulb off an hour saves 700 tonnes of CO2 emissions
- 400 cars emit 700 tonnes of CO2 a year
- 5 million people received messages of campaign
