James Kon
The Ministry of Development participated in the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Earth Hour, a movement aimed at increasing awareness and action on preserving nature and the environment by switching off non-essential lights of its building from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.
Themed ‘Climate Change to Save Earth’, the Earth Hour event is celebrated every last Saturday of March by switching off all non-essential lights for an hour.
The observance of the event is also in support of Brunei Darussalam National Climate Change Policy (BNCCP) to pave for Brunei Darussalam’s low carbon and climate-resilient pathways for a sustainable nation.
Key departments such as Department of Mechanical and Electrical, Public Works Department, Survey Department, Lands Department, Town and Country Planning Department, Drainage and Sewerage Department Authority for Building Control and Construction Industry and Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation under the ministry also switched off non-essential building lights.
Lights off across all households in the country for just one hour would prevent 14 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to the amount sequestrated by 282 trees, according to estimates by the Brunei Climate Change Secretariat.
