The countdown to the Biggest Hour on Earth
is set for March 25,
Saturday, when millions of people across the world will converge around
major world landmarks, cities, and communities to switch off their lights for
60 minutes – starting at 8:30 pm, as part of a global movement to save the
planet. In the Philippines, national landmarks, office buildings, government
offices, and individual houses will all join in as a sign of a broader
commitment towards addressing our planet's sustainability.
The Earth
Hour global celebration started as a symbolic event in Sydney, Australia in
2007 and has grown into one of the world’s largest grassroots environmental
movements spanning over 7,000 cities and 193 countries and territories. The Philippines
joined in 2008, making this year’s Earth Hour the fifteenth time the
celebration is observed.
Several
community partners will also be participating in this year’s main Switch Off
event in the Quezon City Memorial Circle: World Vision Philippines, Oxfam
Pilipinas, Boy Scouts of the Philippines, Association of Young Environmental
Journalists, and De La Salle University among others. Their participation
demonstrates solidarity among fellow environment and development groups in
coming together for a common cause to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss,
and environmental degradation.
As
humanity's unsustainable demands on the natural world are leading to climate
breakdown, habitat loss, and decline of wildlife, Earth Hour is celebrated
every year on the last Saturday of March as an opportunity to invite
individuals and institutions to take substantive measures for the planet. The
core message of this movement lies in going “Beyond the Hour” – essentially,
the actions people can do after the lights go back on.
"This
year's Earth Hour is about the Biggest Hour for Earth – an hour wherein we
begin to do good for our shared tomorrow and our shared home. As we face an
uncertain future with our planet's deteriorating biodiversity, further
threatened by our changing climate, two of the biggest challenges we
confront, we must act sooner and more decisively. Thus, we are reaching out to
governments, cities, businesses, and individuals to be part of the solution in
bringing positive changes for the planet,” said Atty. Angela Ibay, Climate and
Energy Program Head of WWF-Philippines and Earth Hour Pilipinas National
Director.
“The
Philippines has repeatedly been on the top list of countries most vulnerable to
climate change, and we are a mega-biodiverse country. Many do not realize that
nature is our climate's secret ally. We want Filipinos to not only appreciate
what we have, but we also stand to lose. Thus, we all need to be responsible in
shaping our future, and hopefully, we'll be changing the ending for the
positive – for both people and the planet,” Ibay said.
WWF-Philippines’
Earth Hour Ambassador Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski shared what this movement means
for everyone saying: “Having been an Earth Hour Ambassador for so long has
taught me one important lesson, it is that there are always people who care
regardless of their nationality, their social status, their job, or even their
age.”
“There
are so many people who care about the planet. We have to keep that in mind amid
so much negativity. The fact that we are able to see each other again
face-to-face after what seemed like an eternity being in lockdown shows that
things can get better for the planet,” she said.
This
year’s Earth Hour celebration in the Philippines will be the first in-person
event since 2020 before lockdowns due to COVID-19 forced the celebration to go
online. For a decade since its inception back in 2007, Earth Hour focused on
building awareness of climate change. In 2018, the movement’s focus pivoted to
include both climate and nature as their interconnectivity became more evident,
with human activity causing direct negative impacts on nature and the
environment, contributing to biodiversity loss and climate change.
While
COVID-19 has prevented people from interacting in person, this has been an
opportunity to connect to millions of people in digital spaces and engage with
decision-making institutions to secure a new deal for nature with the aim of
halting the loss of biodiversity by the end of the decade.
Quezon
City has been a continuous partner of WWF-Philippines and Earth Hour for many
years. Earth Hour was last held in Quezon City Circle in 2015. Quezon City was
also a finalist in the recent One Planet Cities Challenge (OPCC) 2021-2022.
OPCC is a friendly global competition initiated by WWF to recognize cities for
their climate actions and ambitions and assess whether they align with the
goals set forth in the Paris Agreement in limiting climate change to 1.5 °C.
“According
to the UN, cities are responsible for over 70% of global carbon emissions.
However, cities can also drive emission reduction efforts and transition to a
carbon-neutral future. Recognizing the crucial role of cities in creating a
sustainable future, Quezon City made a conscious and deliberate effort to
address climate change from a local perspective,” said Quezon City Mayor
Joy Belmonte.
“We
enhanced our local climate change action plan (LCCAP), which outlines our
efforts up to the year 2050 to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.
Integral to the development of the LCCAP was the conduct of a GHG emissions
inventory, which allowed the city to measure and better understand the
emissions contributed by different sectors. Based on the inventory, the
stationary energy sector accounts for 60% of carbon emissions. This refers to
fixed locations such as homes, buildings, and factories. Reducing emissions in
this sector is critical. Hence, a combination of measures such as increasing
the use of renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency are our
priority actions,” Belmonte added.
WWF-Philippines
Executive Director Katherine Custodio highlighted the importance of the
in-person gathering, stating: "Earth Hour has always been about individual
actions that taken collectively makes a difference. By having an event like
Earth Hour we are affirming the power of our individual simple action. We
are affirming that people care about our shared future.”
“You may
have heard the argument that the Philippines emits only 0.39% of GHG-so why
should our country commit to further reduction. Well, if all the countries that
account for less than a percent in total account for a third of global GHG.
That is a big component. Please also remember that we are one of the most
impacted by climate change - and if we don’t act who will?” she added.
March 25
will also be the start of the annual Earth Hour Virtual Run, a self-paced virtual run that aims to promote a sustainable and
healthy lifestyle, raise environmental awareness, and support conservation
efforts of WWF-Philippines. The run will last for a month up to April 22,
wherein participants can choose their running distances from 10 km to 60 km.
The registration started on February 3 and will end on April 9.
KD
Montenegro, WWF-Philippines’ Individual Donor Program (IDP) Manager said that
the continuing partnership with Pinoy Fitness for this year’s Earth Hour
Virtual Run reflects the “sustained commitment and responsibility towards
protecting the environment.”
“Because
we are runners and into fitness, we understand that a healthy environment is
necessary for us to have a healthy body. Pinoy Fitness provides this platform
for Filipinos to stay fit and give back to the environment. We believe in going
beyond Earth Hour and literally going the extra mile to ensure a healthy future
for everyone,” she added.
Earth
Hour 2023 is co-presented by Quezon City Government, together with our Official
Communications and PR Partner, COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises, and supported
by the Department of Energy, Climate Change Commission, League of Cities of the
Philippines, League of Provinces of the Philippines, Department of Agriculture,
Court of Appeals, Department of Health, Armed Forces of the Philippines,
Department of Information and Communications Technology, National
Historical Commission of the Philippines, and the National Parks Development
Committee
Visit www.earthhour.org to learn more about events happening this Earth Hour
around the world. Follow WWF-Philippines on social media for updates and events
related to Earth Hour Philippines 2023. Lend your support to the environment
with the official Earth Hour hashtags #EarthHour2023, #EarthHourPhilippines2023
and #BiggestHourForEarth.
About WWF-Philippines
The
World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines is an environmental non-government
organization committed to create an impact on biodiversity protection and to
respond to the climate crisis - towards a safe and just recovery.
WWF-Philippines works with a host of partners including national and local
governments, to co-create inclusive, innovative and interdisciplinary solutions
that emphasize the role of science in the service of life. WWF-Philippines'
focus is on scaled solutions with our partners to match the enormity of the
tasks required to address the urgent environmental challenges facing the
present and next generations of Filipinos. Its mission is "to stop, and
eventually reverse the accelerating degradation of the Philippine environment –
to build a future where Filipinos live in harmony with nature."
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