Kazakhstan takes part in 'Earth Hour' campaign

By Aliia Raimbekova

NURSULTAN (AA) - Iconic Kazakh landmarks like the Bayterek Tower and Nur Alem Pavillion switched off their lights to support the traditional international environmental action "Earth Hour".

The Earth Hour is a global environmental campaign which is held annually by the World-Wide Fund for Nature, an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961.

Along with the Bayterek Tower and Nur Alem Pavilion, Hazrat Sultan Mosque, Peace and Reconciliation Palace and other main buildings switched off their lights in country's newly-named capital of Nursultan.

Last week, Kazakhstan renamed the country's capital 'Nursultan' to honour its ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev. As part of the Earth Hour, the events calling on the people to shut down the electricity for an hour were organized in the shopping centers.

"We aim to draw attention to the climate change. We contribute to the prevention of the global warming by switching off the light for just one hour," said Aygul Solovyeva, head of the Association of Environmental Organizations of Kazakhstan.

Stating that Kazakhstan is taking comprehensive measures against climate change, Solovyeva said the laws envisaging the improvement of the environment were adopted and the International Green Technologies Center was opened.

Solovyeva said they created an interactive map by which all the factories in the country could be traced. "It is possible to see the factories polluting the air on the map. We also monitor how much companies invest in green technologies in order to reduce the amount of hazardous waste," she said.

* Writing by Sibel Morrow