Leading Indian companies are joining the global community to focus the attention on the need to take action to combat climate change. They have pledged to switch off their lights at 8.30 pm local time during Earth Hour on March 28. Launched by global conservation organisation WWF in Sydney two years ago, the initiative is being supported by a billion people in 1,000 cities in more than 80 countries.
The participating companies include HP, Wipro, HSBC, CD Richard Ellis, ITC Welcom Group, Standard Chartered, Nokia, Google, Yes Bank, Tata Indicom, Intel, TetraPak, PVR Cinemas, The Taj Group and Welcom Heritage. The governments of Delhi and Mumbai are also supporting the cause. Film star Aamir Khan is leading the campaign in India.
WWF is making a conscious attempt to engage the business sector in India and abroad. Says James P Leape, director-general, WWF International, “We have had an unprecedented response to Earth Hour from business and industry both in India and the rest of the world. In India, every large corporate we have approached has joined in.”
While the number of supporting businesses was 2,000 during the first Earth Hour in Sydney in 2007, it went up to 21,000 a year later when Earth Hour went global.
This year the corporate sector’s involvement is the strongest ever. Multinationals like IKEA, HSBC, Village Roadshow, Nokia, CBRE, Coca-Cola and McDonalds are supporting Earth Hour both by taking part and promoting the event to staff and customers.
“It’s expected to encourage responsible use of energy. There are many examples of unsustainable energy useespecially in urban areasand we are particularly encouraging the people who live in those areas to join in Earth Hour. We hope they will then start to reduce their energy consumption. For example, they can do so by switching off electrical appliances when they are not in use. That way they can also save money!”
Switching off lights is not the only way to show solidarity with the climate cause. There are other ways, too. Saying that WWF understands there are many people around the world who do not have electricity and are therefore not able to turn off their lights, Leape elaborates there are other ways to take part in Earth Hour. For example, last year many communities joined together in candle-lit vigils. The idea of Earth Hour is to provide a platform upon which every person in the world can unite to Vote Earth, and in doing so tell our worlds leaders that we want action on climate change.
Emphasises Leape, “Earth Hour is a unique opportunity for hundreds of millions of people around the world to demand a global deal on climate change. When heads of state meet in Copenhagen in December to negotiate a new climate change treaty, they will know that the eyes of the world are on them, expecting them to reach a deal to save the planet from the worst effects of global warming.”
The outcome of those talks will determine whether temperature rises can be kept below the critical 2C threshold. WWF expects that decision-makers will take note of the public vote for a deal to combat climate change, and that they will pave the way to a low-carbon global economy, he adds.
Source: The Financial Express
Published on 34 March 2009