By WAM

Lights went off in thousands of cities and towns across the UAE and the world on Saturday for the annual Earth Hour campaign, which is aiming to raise money via the Internet for local environmental projects.

Landmarks such as the Burj Khalifa and Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque switched off their external lighting between 8.30pm and 9.30pm to mark Earth Hour, the world’s largest environmental action on climate change.

In Dubai, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) led the celebrations at Bay Avenue Park from 5pm to 8.30pm and announced that it had achieved a reduction of 255 mwh of electricity during the 60-minute event.

During Earth Hour 2013, the Dewa achieved a reduction of 200,000 kWh of electricity and 120kg of carbon dioxide emissions.



The Singapore-based campaign by conservation group WWF was boosted by Hollywood star power, with "The Amazing Spiderman-2" stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Jamie Foxx leading ceremonies at the city-state's Marina Bay district.

Comic-book hero Spiderman is this year's "ambassador" for Earth Hour, which was launched in Sydney in 2007.

Sydney's Opera House and Harbour Bridge were among the first landmarks around the world to dim their lights for 60 minutes during Saturday's event.

An estimated 7,000 cities and towns from New Zealand to New York are taking part.

Hong Kong's stunning waterfront skyline was unrecognisable on Saturday evening, with the city's tallest skyscraper, the International Commerce Centre, stripped of the vast light show usually wrapped around its 118 stories.

Blazing neon signs advertising some of the world's largest brands were shut off, leaving the view of the heavily vertical southern Chinese city peppered only with tiny lights from buildings' interiors.

Earth Hour partnered with payments giant PayPal to allow donors to contribute to specific projects from Russia and India to Canada and Indonesia, using Asian fundraising site Crowdonomic.

Earth Hour chief executive Andy Ridley said before the lights went off in Singapore that the event had moved beyond symbolism to concrete action.

"If you want to get real social change you need to have symbolism," he told AFP.

"We are seeing some really big outcomes."

Projects under the "Earth Hour Blue" crowdfunding scheme -- which aim to raise more than $650,000 in total -- include a turtle centre in Italy and funding for forest rangers in Indonesia.

The event is being marked in more than 150 countries, organisers said, estimating that thousands of cities and towns would have taken part by the time the ceremonies began in Singapore.

The projects seeking crowdfunding include a 24,000-dollar effort in the Philippines to bring fibreglass boat technology to coastal communities affected by super typhoon Haiyan in November last year.

In Nepal, $100,000 is being sought for a programme called "A Flame Called Hope" to provide access to biogas energy for 150 households in the Terai region, reducing the need for wood as fuel and helping protect the habitat of endangered wildlife, according to the Earth Hour website.

Spiderman-2 star Garfield told journalists that he was a personal supporter of the Nepal project.

"What they are doing is turning waste into energy, it's like the cycle of life right there, if only everyone knew how simple it was," he said.

Earth Hour will see other landmarks including the Empire State Building in New York, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Kremlin in Moscow switch off their lights for an hour starting at 8:30 pm local time on Saturday.

Earth Hour UAE

Dr Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water has reiterated UAE's commitment to environmental protection and active participation in the development and implementation of innovative solutions to protect environmental sustainability.

In a statement on the occasion of Earth Hour which the UAE is celebrating on Saturday, Minister bin Fahad said the wide participation of individuals and institutions in UAE in marking the occasion reflects the community's commitment to combating climate change and establishing standards of sustainability through rationalisation of energy consumption in line with the UAE Vision 2021.

Dh660 million saved per year on energy bills and carbon emissions

He cited the cabinet's recent ban on sale of inefficient bulbs in the UAE to help save more than Dh660 million per year on energy bills and carbon emissions the equivalent to removing 165,000 cars off the road and 940,000 tons of carbon emissions per year. He noted that the ban which is part of an indoor lighting standard in the UAE will come into effect on July 1.

The minister noted that the UAE drew up a green development strategy to transform itself into a green economy and reduce the its carbon emissions and per capita ecological footprint.

On Saturday March 29, at 8:30pm, millions of people across the world are switching off lights for one hour - to celebrate their commitment to the planet.

Green fact: A medium-sized house can save upto Dh2,315 every year by switching to energy efficient lighting, is the SMS message du has put out in support of Earth Hour.

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