His Excellency Eng. Awaidha Murshed Al Marar, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) said: “Earth Hour is growing in significance worldwide and has become a symbol of unified global action to preserve nature. It indeed shows that small collective actions, like switching off the lights at the same time for one hour, can have lasting positive impact. Afterall, earth is our only home and preserving it is a joint responsibility.”

His Excellency said: “In the wake of growing concerns about the rapid loss of natural resources, rising global temperatures and climate change issues, discussions about the environment are taking centerstage the world over and the UAE is no exception. We have launched policies and initiatives to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and diversify our economy. As a signatory to the Paris Climate Agreement, we are committed to reducing green-house gas emissions and limiting global warming. To take this forward, the UAE National Energy Strategy 2050 aims to increase the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix to 50% and reduce the carbon footprint of power generation by 70%.

“In a quest for a sustainable future, Abu Dhabi is striving to create an energy system that enables economic growth, energy security and environmental sustainability. We are proactively investing in clean sustainable energy. However, our commitment to the environment encompasses much more than just clean energy production. For one, we need to create a clean energy ecosystem based on ethical use of our natural resources and conscientious use of energy.”