DEWA encourages Dubai residents to participate in Earth Hour 2016

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is organising Earth Hour for the 9th successive year under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, and in collaboration with the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and the Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS), in association with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and with the assistance of Dubai Properties Group.

"Dubai marks the yearly Earth Hour occasion 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 the Dubai Executive Council, to enhance the leading role Dubai plays in supporting global efforts to lower co2 and greenhouse-gas emissions that trigger global warming and climate change," said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

Earth Hour activities start from 4pm on 19 March 2016, motivating individuals to switch off unnecessary lights at 8:30 pm. Various private organisations, universities and schools will take part in the event, which will include a host of family-oriented and home entertainment activities to raise awareness about the environment, and ensure the rational use of electricity.

"We are pleased to be unifying with 7,000 cities from around the world to observe Earth Hour, which is the biggest environmental occasion worldwide. DEWA is a major contributor to Dubai's efforts to raise environmental awareness.This supports its vision of becoming a sustainable innovative world-class utility. DEWA has implemented several conservation and awareness programmes and initiatives, targeted at different segments of society. We aim to increase awareness of the importance of rational consumption and conserving our natural resources, ensuring sustainability for generations to come, said Al Tayer.

"We motivate active participation in Earth Hour by all Dubai's residents, to enhance the Emirate's involvement in efforts that boost public awareness about ecological concerns, to support sustainable development locally, regionally, and internationally, added Al Tayer.

"Since the preliminary launch of this international activity in Dubai in 2008, in addition to several other pioneering environmental initiatives, we are proud to be a main environmental ambassador of Earth Hour. We are honoured to have actually hosted this initiative for the 3rd time. The occasion will occur at Bay Avenue Park, Business Bay, which is one of our most prestigious locations. This reflects our efforts to restrict the growing results of climate change," said Arif Mubarak, CEO of Dubai Properties Asset Management (DPAM).

"Dubai Properties Group is committed to raising awareness about environmental sustainability. This not just reflected through Earth Hour.

In cooperation with the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE), DEWA recently introduced the Carbon Neutral initiative to neutralise of co2 emissions as a result of Earth Hour, to 0 %. This will be achieved by adopting the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) across all DEWA's tasks based on the Kyoto protocol, which is directly-linked to the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change.