Ordos shines light on eco-friendly initiatives during Earth Hour activity

An international seminar attracting over 100 guests from government bureaus, experts and business is kicked off in Ordos, Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Saturday to celebrate the Earth Hour. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Ordos in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, served as China's Earth Hour host city which falls on Saturday.

The World Wide Fund for Nature, the Center for Environmental Education and Communications of Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ordos municipal government, and the Ordos Bureau of Ecology and Environment came together to jointly orchestrate a series of themed activities for the event.

An international seminar focusing on "green, low-carbon, and high-quality development" has attracted nearly 100 government representatives, industry experts and business delegates to discuss the future of low-carbon development, energy transformation, and climate innovation.

From 20:30 to 21:30, Ordos' iconic buildings turned off their lights for an hour.

The renowned light painting artist Wang Sibo, also helped guide local residents in creating light art at the Ordos Museum, Ordos Grand Theater, and various other locations, advocating for the public's engagement and attention toward protecting the natural ecology.

In an interview, Surgalt, director of the Ordos Bureau of Ecology and Environment, emphasized how this event underscored Ordos' dedication to green and low-carbon transformation and its significant contributions to global ecological protection, which further solidifies China's position as a global leader in ecological governance.

In recent years, Ordos has propelled green transformations in its energy, industry, and transportation sectors.

To date, Ordos has installed new energy facilities with a total capacity of 10.4 million kilowatt, resulting in an annual generation of over 20 billion kilowatt-hours of green electricity. This achievement has led to the conservation of approximately 6.2 million metric tons of standard coal and a reduction of about 16.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, data from the city's bureau of ecology and environment showed.