The celebration of Earth Hour 2023 in the
Philippines was a success, with iconic landmarks, local governments, and
businesses across the country participating in the switch-off.
Earth Hour is an annual event organized by the
World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines (WWF-Philippines) that encourages people
to turn off their lights for an hour as a symbol of their commitment to the
planet. This global movement aims to raise awareness about climate change and
the need for urgent action to mitigate its impacts. The event also seeks to
highlight the value of nature as climate’s secret ally and the halting of biodiversity
loss as one of the organization’s critical advocacies.
The National Grid Corporation of the
Philippines (NGCP) measured a total nationwide drop in electricity grid load of
62.68 megawatts (MW) during Earth Hour. Luzon saw the most significant drop
with 33.28 MW, while Visayas and Mindanao saw load drops of 20.5 MW and 8.9 MW,
respectively. To put this into perspective, a small household can consume
around 150 to 250 kilowatts in a month, making the energy saved during Earth
Hour equivalent to 250 to 418 small households not consuming electricity for a
whole month.
“We see how much Filipinos care about the
planet because of their consistent annual participation in Earth Hour. Each
person’s contribution adds up to the bigger goal of reducing the country’s
reliance on fossil fuels,” Earth Hour Philippines National Director Atty.
Angela Consuelo Ibay said.
“Now that Filipinos have taken the first step
of switching off their lights, it’s time to keep going by going beyond the
hour. We need more people to support environmental efforts whether it is in
reducing plastic waste, promoting renewable energy, and eating and living
sustainably,” she added.
Atty. Ibay explained that switching off the
lights for one hour is just a small act for one person, but when millions of
people do it, it adds up to significant savings in terms of energy usage. She
said that the switch-off is simply the first step to becoming more aware of our
individual roles in protecting the environment.
This year’s Earth Hour was held on March 25 at
the Quezon City Memorial Circle and was attended by an estimated 1,200 people,
according to the Quezon City Department of Public Order and Safety. The event
was marked by a series of activities, including a sustainability fair, a
symbolic run for the Earth, and musical entertainment by local artists.
"It only takes 60 minutes to do good for
our future, 60 minutes to take notice and commit to saving Mother Nature, to be
united and take action because together nothing is impossible,” the President
said in a video statement. "Let's switch off and give Mother Nature 60
minutes to breathe," he added.
In the previous year’s Earth Hour celebration,
the total load drop measured was 65.32 MW for the entire country with the
largest savings of 35.26 MW from Luzon, followed by 15.3 MW for Mindanao, and
14.76 MW for Visayas.
Since the first Earth Hour in 2007 in
Australia, millions of people participate every year in Earth Hour from various
sectors, groups, and parts of the world, making it an authentic movement of
humanity for the environment. The Philippines joined the global movement in
2008. The yearly global switching off of lights is observed from 8:30 pm to
9:30 pm, where over 190 countries around the world joined in as part of this
one-of-a-kind global grassroots movement for nature.
Earth Hour 2023 is co-presented by Quezon City
Government, together with our Official Communications and PR Partner, COMCO Mundo
League of Enterprises; media partners The Philippine Star, GMA, Radyo Veritas,
and Globaltronics; promotional partners Creator and Influencer Council of the
Philippines, Leo Burnett, and GCash; marketing partners Salad Stop, Coca-Cola,
SSI Group, Inc., Epson Philippines, Sun Life Foundation, Booths & Partners,
Ayala Malls, and Megaworld Lifestyle Malls; and community partners Save the
Children, Oxfam Pilipinas, World Vision, United Nations Development Programme,
International Organization for Migration, Association of Young Environmental
Journalists, The Asia Foundation, De La Salle University and Philippine Scouts.
The following government offices support this
event: the Department of Energy, Climate Change Commission, Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, 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, National Parks Development Committee, National Economic
Development Authority, Department of Education, Department of Interior and
Local Governance, Laguna Lake Development Authority.
The success of the Earth Hour event in the
Philippines serves as an inspiration to other countries in the region and
around the world. It shows that by working together, we can make a difference
in our planet's future.
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