By Vesela Todorova www.thenational.ae
The world’s tallest tower plunged into partial darkness for an hour yesterday to commemorate Earth Hour, the world’s biggest awareness event dedicated to fighting climate change.
The Burj Khalifa joined landmarks such as the London Eye, the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids and the Forbidden City in Beijing in the campaign, which aimed at attracting a billion people this year.
In the UAE, the 8.30pm “lightout” also included the Dubai Mall, the Burj al Arab, the Emirates Palace, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and the headquarters of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
The Abu Dhabi Airports Company switched off the lighting system of its second runway and inessential lights in administrative buildings. More than 200 public and private organisations and thousands of individuals had declared their intention to participate, organisers said.
This year’s Earth Hour comes months after what environmentalists deemed a failure of the international negotiations on climate change in Denmark, which were supposed to impose limits on the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.
Campaigners have said Earth Hour sends a message of hope that small, incremental changes can have a significant impact if adopted on a large enough scale.
