DOHA: Qatar joined the world yesterday to mark the 10th Earth Hour, with several landmark buildings, government and private facilities plunging into darkness for 60 minutes from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.
Earth Hour is a global grassroots initiative first launched nearly 10 years ago by NGO WWF in 2007 in Sydney, Australia. Since then, Earth Hour has become a worldwide phenomenon with more than 7,000 cities participating,
Government buildings, hotels and several private facilities in Qatar turned off or dimmed their lights for an entire hour to show their commitment to protect their planet and to raise an awareness of climate change.
Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) led the campaign with various awareness activities involving the public at Katara Cultural village. All exterior lights in hotels and buildings around the village were turned off to mark the occasion.
In a statement issued yesterday, Kahramaa stressed the need for innovative ways to achieve sustainable development. The national campaign for rationalization of water and electricity consumption, Tarsheed, is a major initiative in this area.
“Kahramaa’s participation in this initiative basically aims at raising awareness about the importance of saving energy, rationalizing consumption and instilling the concept of Earth Hour in our daily life. Rationalization of consumption becomes a common responsibility for all,” said Abdullah Al Jassim, Director, Public Relations and Communication, Kahramaa.
Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and a number of its partners in private and public sectors including hotels and tourism institutions took part in the campaign by putting off or dimming their lights. Guests at hotels also joined the campaign.
Faisal bin Ahmed Al Mohannadi, director of public relations and communication at QTA said, “I feel proud that a big number of entities in tourism sector in Qatar has marked Earth Hour. QTA is keen to achieve sustainable development , preserve natural resources and reduce the impact of tourism sector on environment. Environment sustainability is a major component of categorizing hotels- an initiative we launched recently.”
The Ministry of Municipality and Environment , Ministry of Economy and Commerce and several other ministries and government entities also turned off lights in their premises. Several landmark buildings at Corniche, West Bay and other major locations also plunged into darkness for an hour.
The Peninsula
