Beiruting News

G NGO held a press conference to reveal the details of its upcoming event, Earth Hour concert, which will be held in Lebanon for the third year in a row, under the sponsorship of Alfa, managed by Orascom TMT. The conference took place in Cinema City-Beirut Souks on Thursday, March 16, 2017 in the presence of the Minister of Trade & Economy Mr. RaedKhoury represented by the ministry's Director General Mrs Alia Abbas,Alfa CEO and Chairman Marwan Hayek, associations and participating institutions as well as media and press representatives.

The conference commenced by a word by G NGO's president Mr. Nader Nakib, in which he said: "This annual event aims at raising awareness of the threat of climate change that significantly affects our lives, although this is not recognized by many due to the lack of awareness. Each year we encourage the adoption of a new environmentally friendly lifestyle that is ultimately beneficial to both environment and human beings. "

He added: "This year too, we are organizing a concert to activate "Earth Hour", because music is a universal language capable of gathering youth and thus spread awareness among them, especially that the event will be entirely environmental just like every year, characterized by three zeros: zero conventional energy as solar panels have been installed to harvest power from the sun, zero waste by using recyclable material and zero carbon, in hopes for a better environmental future in Lebanon."

In his speech, Mr. Hayek said: "We have been working for three years with G Association on environmental issues, and hence we are supporting the Earth Day that is organized by the NGO annually and that puts Lebanon at the heart of this global initiative". Hayek also said, "We took it upon ourselves at Alfa three years ago to take a leading role in combating environmental threats in order to support the Earth, which is the source of life and the reason for our existence and survival on this planet".

He indicated that Alfa "conducts many social initiatives, namely as part of our Alfa 4-Life CSR program and Alfa 4-Nature program".

"Our current initiative is to rely on hybrid energy solutions across our network in Lebanon, these solutions use solar energy, batteries and diesel generators as a backup solution if needed if any problems occur with solar energy. This will limit our consumption of conventional energy, decrease expenses, and reduce hazardous emissions, confirming our commitment to the environment".

In the end, he congratulated G Association on this initiative and said that Alfa will turn off the lights in its building for one hour on March 25, promising that the company will be environmentally responsible over the entire year, for 365 days.

Then came the speech of the conference's keynote speaker Director General of the Ministry of Trade & Economy Mrs. Alia Abbas who stated that, "This year's event revolves around "Green Economy", a term that may not seem familiar," "This is a new model of fast-growing economic development aimed at addressing mutual relation between economic regimes and natural ecosystems, the adverse impact of human activities on climate change, and global warming. Green Economy relies on renewable energy, besides its role in creating green jobs, ensuring sustainable and real economic growth, preventing environmental pollution, global warming, resources depletion and environmental degradation. "

She added: "For our part, the Ministry of Economy will strive to activate green economy through clean energy investments in sustainable transport and environmentally friendly industries. These changes may not occur overnight, especially that they come with significant and potentially irreversible social, environmental and economic costs. However, the positive impact that accompanies this model in enhancing the efficiency of resource use, reducing carbon emissions, waste and pollution, improving the economy and creating new job opportunities proves that it is worth it."

The conference also included a statement by the violinist Jihad Akl, who expressed his contentment and pride in participating in the most vital environmental event in Lebanon.

During the concert, taking place at Beirut by Bike- Beirut Waterfront, on Saturday March 25, 2017, lights will be turned off for an hour at 8:30 pm Beirut time in a number of official buildings, universities and houses, in order to unite Lebanon in spreading environmental awareness and rational use of energy.