LAHORE  - Pakistan is all set to join 7,000 cities and more than 170 countries across the world to celebrate WWF’s largest symbolic environmental event Earth Hour on Saturday 9today). WWF-Pakistan will be hosting the main event at Qarshi University in Lahore, with several simultaneous events happening in Karachi, Islamabad, Quetta, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Multan, Sheikhupura and other cities to pledge to conserve Pakistan’s environment and natural treasures.
In a recent move WWF-Pakistan has also taken the Punjab government on board as Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, Minister Education and Sports signed the pledge for officially celebrating Earth Hour in Punjab Assembly. Rana Muhammad Iqbal, Speaker Punjab Assembly; Dr Ahmed Javed Qazi, DCO Lahore and Mian Shakeel Ahmed, DG PHA, were also present on the occasion.
While talking to the media, Rana Iqbal, said, “We’ll celebrate Earth Hour in Punjab Assembly with great enthusiasm on Saturday from 8:30pm to 9:30pm. and we are quite hopeful that such efforts will help in instilling conservation awareness among the citizens of this country.”
Director General and CEO of WWF – Pakistan, Ali Hassan Habib, has also lent his unreserved support to Earth Hour 2014. He commented, “Earth Hour in Pakistan has become a motivation for our youth to recognize their contribution to the green movement. We have students in schools, colleges and universities who translate the message of Earth Hour into their daily lives by not wasting electricity and water, by not littering, by planting trees, by refusing to use plastic bags. It’s these small but critical choices in our daily lives that can mean a world of difference for our environment.”
The main Earth Hour event at Qarshi University includes celebrity ambassadors from various walks of life who will join the event to spread the message of conservation among people.
Actor, writer, activist and documentary maker Feryal Ali Gauhar and renowned singer and model Zoe Viccaji will be present at the occasion. In addition, other expected guests include Mehreen Raheel, Nadia Jameel, Ali Tahir, Rehan Butt (Hockey Player) and Omair Rana, who will commit to doing acts of green in their lives to lead by example. This mega celebration in Qarshi University will include talent show by university and school students, pledge signing and candle lighting activities.
Unlike other countries with surplus energy sources, Pakistan is struggling with an energy shortfall that causes power outages regularly in many cities. For this very reason, WWF – Pakistan promotes celebrating the spirit of Earth Hour which goes beyond just turning off lights for one hour.
It is focused on engaging people in conserving energy resources that we do have and lobbying with policy makers to find alternative and clean energy solutions.
WWF-Pakistan’s corporate partners for Earth Hour campaign for 2014 mainly include Qarshi Industries, Lucky Cement, Pebbles Private Ltd and PEL. Earth Hour is a global movement for conservation of natural resources and energy that started off in Sydney, Australia in 2007 and has taken the world by storm.
Traditionally celebrated in the month of March, more than 156 countries of the world have now joined in to take concrete steps to symbolize the success of the movement. WWF – Pakistan has taken environmental education as its mode of taking the message of Earth Hour “beyond the hour”.