UAE residents and businesses encouraged to take part in Earth Hour

Since Earth Hour began in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, more than 80 tonnes of CO2 emissions have been eliminated.

Dubai is seen in March 2016 as it took part in Earth Hour. Ravindranath K / The National

ABU DHABI // Earth Hour aims to encourage people around the world to turn off their lights and save half a million kilowatt hours of energy – the equivalent of energy use in 50,000 homes a year.

Every year, the Emirates Wildlife Society in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund 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 it 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) on Thursday said that it began a weekly Earth Hour switch-off practise starting last November. In three months, the company has saved 24,395 kilowatt hours of electricity and reduced its CO2 emissions by 10,297kg.

Now for one hour a week, EGA turns off non-essential electrical devices to save energy and cut carbon emissions in the energy-intensive process of aluminium smelting.

“Weekly Earth Hours deliver small but measurable energy savings for our business but, more than that, they are a regular reminder to everyone at EGA that energy-efficiency is an important priority for the company and society,” said Tayeb Al Awadhi, senior vice president of energy at EGA.

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, CO2 carbon emissions have been reduced by more than 80 tonnes.

Majid Al Futtaim will also be taking part. Businesses under the brand will turn to “power-saving mode” and encourage visitors to turn off their appliances for an hour on Saturday.

“Sustainability is at the core of Majid Al Futtaim’s values,”” said Ibrahim Al Zu’bi, the head of sustainability. “We encourage all visitors to join us in turning off lights during Earth Hour.”

Those looking to share their experience can post it on social media with the hashtag #earthhourUAE and visit the website, earthhour.uae.panda.org.