Vietnam saves 400,000 kWh of power during Earth Hour

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The campaign took place in 30 provinces and cities nation wide. In the central province of Thua Thien-Hue , the centre of Vietnam ’s 2011 Earth Hour campaign, a 60-minute art performance was held in Nghinh Luong Dinh in Hue city under the light of candles.

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong, and Tran Minh Hien, Director of WWF Vietnam attended the event.

Thousands of local people and visitors at the central coastal city of Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province, gathered at the April 2 square to participate Earth Hour 2011.

Politburo member and Minister, Chairman of the Government Office Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Khanh Hoa provincial Party Secretary Le Thanh Quang were among others to attend the event.

Addressing the function, Phuc called all people throughout the country to respond Earth Hour in particular and take actions to protect the environment in general, asking international environmental organizations to continue to support and help Vietnam in environmental related issues.

In Hanoi, during one-hour, lighting equipments in such places as Ngoc Son temple-The Huc bridge, the Opera House, Trang Tien Plaza, Vincom City Towers were turned off in response to Earth Hour.

The action also expressed the capital city’s strong commitment to joining common efforts to cope with climate change.

Lights in such localities as Vung Tau city, the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ca Mau city of the southern province of Ca Mau, Ha Long city, Uong Bi and Mong Cai towns in the northern province of Quang Ninh, the northern city of Hai Phong and Thanh Hoa city of the northern Thanh Hoa province were switched off in response to the Earth Hour campaign.

The Earth Hour, launched by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), was first held in Sydney , Australia in 2007 with two million participated people turning off lights. In 2010, 128 countries joined the campaign.

Themed “Turning off the lights in 60 minutes, taking actions in 365 days for climate change,” WWF wanted to warn people that activities to protect the environment do not take place in only one hour but also in 365 days throughout the year in an attempt to bring positive changes to the environment.

The Vietnam Earth Hour, jointly held by the WWF in Vietnam and the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, was first organised in Hanoi in 2009.

Vietnam saved 140,000 kWh of power, equivalent to 126 million VND in 2009 and 500,000 kWh of power in 2010 during the Earth Hour.