Qatar spreads the green message with blackout

Several companies and households marked Earth Hour 2009 in Qatar by switching off lights for 60 minutes yesterday, as a sign of growing awareness about climate change and the willingness to protect the environment.

In 2008, with virtually no official patronage, only a handful of establishments and homes in Qatar supported the idea by killing lights between 8pm and 9pm, while most claimed to be in the dark about it.

Yesterday, Qtel joined what has now become a global campaign after starting with only 2.2mn people in Sydney two years ago. The Arabesque Qtel tower in the West Bay went dark at 8.30pm for one hour while normal service to customers continued.

The Six Senses Spa at the Sharq Village & Spa also marked the Earth Hour 2009 during which a special candlelit yoga class was held from 7pm onwards.

Other hotels that chipped in were Marriott and the Sheraton. A number of banks and other local companies also displayed their commitment to the awareness-raising hour. Standard Chartered Bank had announced its participation last week and was joined by others such as the HSBC, which switched off lights at all the branches and offices while urging the staff to follow suit at home as well.

Another organisation doing its bit for the environment was the Regency Group, which contains more than 29 businesses. The company actively participated in last year’s campaign as well. The Regency Group sent out nearly 3,000 letters to the tenants of its properties and 1,500 to its staff “encouraging them to take part in the campaign” last year.

Movenpick Towers and Suites, too, was an active participant in last year’s campaign.

Apart from the symbolic Hour, schools in Qatar turned off the lights for half-an-hour in the morning at 10am on March 3 to mark a similar ‘Lights Off’ occasion on the call of the Qatar Olympics Committee (QOC), whose tower went dark between 7pm and 7.30pm on the same day.

The energy-conservation step was taken by QOC in association with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the Supreme Education Council and Kahramaa.

The pyramids of Giza, Niagara Falls, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, the Acropolis and Beijing’s “Birds Nest” Olympic stadium were among other major landmarks across 84 countries that celebrated Earth Hour.

The waters of Sydney Harbour were also plunged into darkness for an hour from 8.30pm (0930 GMT) as the iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge turned off their lights.

In Hong Kong, famed for its glittering waterfront, more than 1,500 buildings dimmed their lights.

Over 2,800 cities, villages and towns had pledged their support for Earth Hour 2009.

The WWF estimated more than 50mn people from around the world participated in 2008.