Vietnam saved 485,000 kWh of electricity, equivalent to 834 million VND (36,612 USD), during the Earth Hour from 8:30pm-9:30pm of  March 24, according to the National Load Dispatch Centre.

Earth Hour logo 

During the hour, many people from 63 provinces and cities nationwide switched off unnecessary electrical devices.

This year’s figure represented a slight rise against the 471,000 kWh of electricity saved during the Earth Hour 2017.

Speaking at a ceremony held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in response to the Earth Hour in Hanoi’s August Revolution Square on March 24, Deputy Minister Cao Quoc Hung said that the Vietnamese Government has issued a lot of strategies and policies on thrift energy use and environmental protection in order to show the country’s determination to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Earth Hour is the largest social event in the world, which has been observed in 7,000 cities of 172 countries and territories.

Vietnam first joined the Earth Hour campaign, which is an initiative of WWF, in 2009 as part of efforts to realise its commitments to reducing 8 percent of greenhouse emission by 2030 in response to climate change.

The country launched the Earth Hour campaign 2018 at a ceremony held in Hanoi on March 3.

Together with the symbolic action of turning off unnecessary electrical devices for an hour on March 24, many other power-saving activities have been launched at businesses, households, schools, together with competitions and Flashmob performances during March, the month of the campaign.-VNA