19/05/2021
According to the National Power Dispatch Centre, Việt Nam saved 353,000 kWh of electricity, equivalent to 658.1 million VND (28,635 USD), during one hour from 20:30 to 21:30 on March 27th 2021, when the entire country turned off unnecessary electric appliances in response to Earth Hour 2021.
The Earth Hour 2021 campaign, initiated by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) with the theme “Speak up for nature”, took place in Việt Nam on March 27th evening to raise public awareness of the relationship between human activities in the natural world and the causes of epidemics and pandemics, especially COVID-19. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade has received warm response from people across 63 cities and provinces. The Electricity of Việt Nam (EVN) and its member companies nationwide encouraged organisations, offices and customers to switch off unnecessary electrical devices during Earth Hour.
The event aimed to highlight the connection between humans and nature and the correlation relationship between species, thus prompting specific actions in saving energy so as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The event also aims to encourage initiatives on community building sustainable economic development and integration with nature, protecting biodiversity and effectively responding to climate change. Another target of the event is to calls on organizations and individuals to limit the use of single-use plastics to wipe out plastic waste in the environment.
MONRE called for action by each individual and organization to reduce the burden on the environment by rejecting, minimizing, reusing, and recycling waste, especially plastic waste and disposable plastic products; using environmentally-friendly public transport; investing in energy-saving equipment; and turning off or unplugging devices when not in use and encouraging the use of renewable energy.
Hồng Nhung
(Source: Vietnam Environment Administration Magazine, English Edition I - 2021)