Brunei celebrates Earth Hour with lights out

Most parts of Brunei went dark on Saturday evening as thousands of Bruneians with glow sticks and candles joined people from 178 countries and territories in the global Earth Hour campaign.

The world's largest grassroots movement founded by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) will see millions of participants around the globe switching off lights for one hour in an effort to shine a light on climate action and the role people can play in the global efforts to fight climate change.

In Brunei, Earth Hour was observed with two iconic landmarks in the capital - Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex and Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque - as focal points as the event rolled across the globe simultaneously.

"While the world is experiencing the impacts of climate change, we are also watching countries uniting to create climate-friendly legislation across the globe," said Mohd Rimey, country manager of Earth Hour Brunei.

"In Brunei, from a humble start in 2010, Earth Hour shows that even though we are affected by climate change, there are communities and organizations in the Sultanate putting their efforts to reduce our carbon footprint," Rimey said.

"Switching off lights and/or changing one's profile picture (on social media) are symbolic gestures the first steps toward taking a stand on climate action," he said.

"When individuals unite, the power of the collective can create a massive impact as we have seen with Earth Hour observations over the past decade," he added.

Earth Hour was initially launched in 2007 as a global movement of solidarity for climate action.

After 10 years of the world's first Earth Hour in Sydney, WWF's landmark movement has seen unprecedented developments taking place in the battle against climate change.

source: Xinhua