Hue City marked the country’s first entry into the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour City Challenge and took home the title National Earth Hour Capital 2016.

The WWF recognized Hue on Tuesday as Viet Nam's National Earth Hour Capital 2016, part of the global Earth Hour City Challenge, celebrating the environmentally friendly policies and initiatives that Hue and its residents are taking to become leaders in sustainable development, the Vietnamese office of the fund said on its website.

“WWF is pleased with what Hue has achieved,” Thinh Van Ngoc, WWF-Viet Nam Country Director, said at a ceremony in the city the same day.

“Hue has shown it has what it takes to become a pioneer city in green and sustainable development,” he stated.

The Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC), which is in its fifth year, is a WWF initiative calling on cities around the globe to take action for a climate-friendly future by developing and rolling out ambitious plans to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Chairman of the Hue People’s Committee Nguyen Van Thanh (left) receives the certificate of National Earth Hour Capital 2016 on June 28, 2016. (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

The challenge invites cities to report ambitious commitments and big win climate actions in terms of greenhouse gas reductions as well as the co-benefits they provide in relation to food, water and energy security challenges.

According to the organization, 125 cities from 21 countries were selected in the competition this year and Paris was awarded the Global Earth Hour Capital.

Viet Nam took part in the challenge for the first time with Hue as its representative city, which became one of the 17 national winners.

The 18 winners will be honored at an awards ceremony in Quito, Ecuador, during the United Nations Habitat III conference in October 2016, the WWF said.

“Along with being voted ‘ASEAN City of Culture’ and ‘Environmental Sustainability City’ by ASEAN in 2014, the National Earth Hour Capital 2016 is a great encouragement, but also requires high commitment from the city’s government and residents toward developing a sustainable future,” Nguyen Van Thanh, chairman of the Hue Province People’s Committee, said.

Hue’s campaign hinged on a commitment to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 compared to 2011 emission levels.

The city has undertaken several low-carbon developmental actions that focus on urban greening, green tourism development, effective disposal of trash and wastewater, efficient public lighting systems, renewable energy and enviro-friendly construction materials, the Vietnamese website of the WWF said.

On Thursday, the WWF will announce the winner of We Love Cities, a social media campaign that allows people across the world to express support for sustainable urban development by voting on selected Earth Hour City Challenge cities and posting improvement suggestions.

(Source: Tuoitrenews)