Environment Agency Abu Dhabi calls on to support paperless Day

Abu Dhabi, Nov 23, 2011 (WAM) - As part of Paperless Day tomorrow (November 23) more than 150,000 individuals and organisations have already pledged to reduce their reliance on paper at home and in the office. The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) has called on businesses, government department, institutions and individuals to cease all unnecessary use of paper today. This will help save hundreds of kilogrammes in carbon emissions from being released into our atmosphere. The number of participants in this year's Paperless Day has already exceeded the number of participants last year which reached 127,000 throughout the United Arab Emirates and the Arab world saving around 4 tonnes of carbon emissions. EAD has asked people to register their participation on the Paperless Day website today, gain tips for paper reduction through a variety of toolkits, and add in their paper savings from participating on the day (which are automatically translated into savings of Carbon dioxide, the main Greenhouse gas contributing to climate change). Paperless Day, an initiative that was first launched by EAD in 2008 in partnership with Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Company (ADGAS), aims to encourage people to review and reduce their paper usage. Despite access to advanced digital technology, organisations and the general public are still consuming large amounts of paper, much of it unnecessary. The paper production process contributes to the destruction of forests world-wide. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the global conservation organisation, around 40% of the world's commercially cut timber is processed for paper. It also threatens the habitats of many rare and endangered plant and animal species. The paper production process also consumes vast amounts of water and discharges water pollutants, in addition to emitting large quantities of greenhouse gasses - the main cause of global climate change. The decomposition of waste paper also results in methane being released into the atmosphere, which is an extremely potent Greenhouse gas. - Emirates News Agency, WAM