Quarter million residents mark Paperless Day
Participation in annual initiative almost doubles
Abu Dhabi: Around 250,000 people from government and non-government organisations, businesses and other groups including football clubs from around the UAE and the Arab world took part in observing Paperless Day on Wednesday.
The number of participants this year was almost double the number last year, when 127,000 people's participation helped avoid the release of around 4 tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere, according to a press release issued by the Environment Agency—Abu Dhabi (EAD).
EAD is calculating the results of this year's Paperless Day in terms of the number of trees saved and carbon dioxide emission avoided. The results are expected in a week's time. EAD will also be publishing the full list of organisations that took part.
Truly impressive
"The enthusiasm and willingness we received from people around the UAE to participate in Paperless Day has been inspiring. Having a quarter of a million people participating is truly impressive," said Khansa Al Blouki, Assistant Campaigns Manager at the EAD.
Paper production, consumption and disposal are one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions which cause climate change, she said. "Also, more than 45 per cent of the printouts are discarded the same day. We urge everyone to adopt steps to reduce their reliance on paper all year round, and to use Paperless Day as a way of showing friends and colleagues that using less paper really is possible," Khansa said.
"We are currently receiving data from participating organisations and are calculating the results in terms of numbers of trees saved and carbon dioxide emission avoided. We plan to recognise everyone's efforts in a ceremony in January," she added.
Online tools allow calculation of benefits
The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) had asked people to register their participation on the Paperless Day website www.paperlessday.com.
On the website, participants could gain tips for paper reduction through a variety of toolkits, and add in their paper savings from participating on the day which were automatically translated into savings of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.
