In an effort to promote the concept of sustaining rational consumption decisions throughout our daily lives and in support of action on climate change, Zayed University celebrated the Earth Hour by turning off the lights in Abu Dhabi and Dubai campuses on Saturday evening.

The one-hour event recorded impressive savings of around 1.5 ton of carbon dioxide emissions and about 1680 Kwh, which is lower 46 per cent than the normal average.

The Campus Physical Development Office (CPDO), which was the main organizer of this event in cooperation with Sadiq Almulla, Chief Administrative and Finance Officer, switched off unnecessary lights inside and outside the university’s buildings as well as air conditioning systems and other equipment.  

The earth hour is an initiative held in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council and in partnership with the Supreme Council of Energy, Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS), and in association with the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) and Dubai Properties Group (DPG).

Professor Reyadh AlMehaideb, Vice President of Zayed University, praised Zayed University’s commitment to switching the lights off on Sunday March 28.

 “The main objective of this event is to reduce electricity and water consumption and cut emissions to achieve objective of the green economy of the UAE,” Professor AlMehaideb said.

AlMehaideb also highlighted that Earth Hour is a vital staple of environmental awareness. Reducing carbon footprint whether at home or at the workplace, is significant in order to create a healthy and environmentally safe world.

“The earth hour is a worldwide act which unites countries and communities every year towards the end of March by switching off all non-essential lights for at least one hour. It was first initiated in 2007 in Sydney, Australia by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which advocates for conservation and restoration of the environment. To date, more than 7000 cities have joined in this act,” Fatme Al Anouti, Interim Assistant Dean of the College of Sustainability and Humanities at ZU, addressed on the sidelines of the event.

“The main goal of the one-hour event is to reduce the ecological footprint and expenditure of energy in order to mitigate the impact of global warming and pollution on the planet. This is a symbolic action that could inspire people to take action beyond the earth hour and contribute towards the tackling of several environmental issues that threaten the planet like shortage of water and fragmentation of habitats for endangered species,” Al Anouti, advisor of the Health and Sustainability Club at Zayed University, concluded.

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