ISLAMABAD: National, provincial assemblies and others state buildings were plunged into darkness for an hour on Saturday as part of a global campaign to raise awareness about climate change and its impact on the planet’s vanishing biodiversity.
In a message shared on the occasion, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser said: “The world is experiencing diverse impacts of climate change more than ever and it is important to empower people to become part of climate change initiatives.”
The speaker said that ‘Pakistan’s Vision 2025’ considers climate change to be one of the top national priorities and provides a “sound basis to integrate climate change budgeting into national development planning”.
The 13th edition of Earth Hour, organised by the green group WWF, will see millions of people across 180 countries turn off their lights at 8:30 pm local time to highlight energy use and the need for conservation.
Other global landmarks that will take part in Earth Hour include the Eiffel Tower in Paris, New York’s Empire State Building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and the Acropolis in Athens.
The event comes after some of the most dire warnings yet on the state of Earth’s natural habitat and species.
WWF’s own “Living Planet” report in October said that 60 percent of all animals with a backbone — fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals — had been wiped out by human activity since 1970.
Another study confirmed that a recent decline in bugs that fly, crawl, burrow and skitter across still water — fuelled by deforestation, urbanisation and the rise of commercial farming — was part of an unfolding mass extinction event, only the sixth in the last half-billion years.
Last year, Earth Hour was observed in more than 7,000 towns and cities in 187 countries, according to the organisers.