In an award ceremony organised by Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) in Quito, the national and the global Earth hour capitals were honoured for winning the challenge. At the event, Rajkot city from India won the title of National Earth Hour Capital out of the 10 Indian cities that participated in the challenge. The city’s credible actions in energy conservation, renewable energy and energy efficiency have been acknowledged as the models to follow and emulate for other local governments of similar size.

The honour was received in presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, WWF International President Yolanda Kakabadse and AisaKacyira, Deputy Executive, UN Habitat.

As per the ranking under the Clean India Mission Survey of Government of India, Rajkot is the seventh cleanest city of India and is also elected to be part of the national ‘Solar City Programme’. Rajkot city’s leadership abilities and strong vision has enabled he city to win the title of national earth hour capital. Besides this, the city is highly committed towards taking bold and innovative steps in the areas of clean energy development. Rajkot city’s credible actions in energy conservation, renewable energy, energy efficiency are the models to follow and emulate for other local governments of similar size. Besides this, the city has been actively working on sustainable housing and non-motorised transport to reap the benefits of low carbon urban development. The city has also taken actions in the area of solid waste management and raising awareness amongst the community regarding energy, renewable energy and its benefits. The city has target to reduce GHG emission by 25 percent of Rajkot City’s baseline annual GHG emissions in the year 2012-13 till year 2020.

Dr. Jaimanbhai Upadhyay, Honorable Mayor of Rajkot Municipal Corporation attended the ceremony and received the award. “The city of Rajkot is highly committed to develop it as a green city of Gujarat. We have taken various steps in this regard in the past and are highly encouraged to further accelerate our actions in this direction. We are highly obliged and thankful to WWF and ICLEI for providing us a global platform to present and demonstrate our actions and acknowledging them through this international event,” said the mayor. He added that the city is looking forward to more work on energy conservation, renewable energy and energy efficiency. “It is not an easy path, but Rajkot Municipal Corporation is ready to do its part and begin an exciting new chapter in the development of Rajkot towards a more Green Sustainable Future," said Mr Upadhyaya.