On Match 29th, the UAE will once again join the Earth Hour global campaign. This will actually be the sixth time in which the country will participate in the event. However, this year, the UAE’s goal is more ambitions than ever before.
Traditionally, Earth Hour is marked all over the world by various light-off events. In that way, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which originally came up with this idea, tries to spread awareness on different environmental issues.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the countries that activity support the Earth Hour movement. In 2013, for instance, only Dubai managed to save 200,000kwh by switching off the lights for an hour. It is estimated that this is around 120,000kg of carbon emissions.
Even though these numbers sound quite impressive, they are less compared to those measures in 2012. During the 2012 Earth Hour, Dubai save 216,000kwh or about 130,000kg of carbon emissions. Therefore, the country will try to raise the bar this year by saving 220,000kwh in Dubai. If that is achieved, the UAE will register 10% more electricity saving compared to 2013.
For that purpose, residents are encouraged to actively participate in the campaign. In Dubai, as well as all over the world, Earth Hour 2014 will be held between 8.30 pm and 9.30 pm on March 29. This is when companies, institutions and residents should turn their lights off as part of the global effort to reduce electricity consumption. In addition to that, there will be a special event held at bay Avenue Park, Downtown Dubai which will expand over a longer period of time. It will start as early as 5pm and it will end in 10pm.
The Earth Hour movement also tries to encourage the use of energy-saving light bulbs. The UAE has not overlooked this problem. As a matter of fact, this summer the country is planning to ban the import of incandescent light bulbs. This means that residents will soon be able to use only energy-efficient bulbs. Although this eco-friendly solution comes at a higher price tag, it is estimated that for a year they can save a household more than AED 2,000 a year.
This year’s Earth Hour campaign will spread over 140 countries. Around 7,000 cities and towns are expected to join the movement.
