Take climate action by participating in the global Earth Hour movement on Saturday, March 27.
This was the appeal made by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy A. Cimatu as he called on Filipinos to participate in the worldwide event that will be observed in the Philippines from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.
"I enjoin all households and businesses across the country to jointly switch off their lights and other energy-consuming devices for an hour, and to encourage action towards the environment even after the lights are turned back on,” he said.
Computers, television sets, air conditioning units and non-essential lights may be switched off to express a shared concern for the environment.
"Now more than ever, environmental responsibility is critical and must be sustained. Let us do our share and switch off for an hour in support of a healthy future for humankind and the environment," Cimatu further said.
However, the DENR chief emphasized that beyond this symbolic action, Filipinos should reduce electrical consumption to lessen carbon footprint and emissions generated by carbon dioxide and fossil fuel, which are major causes of climate change.
He also proposed shifting to renewable sources of energy such as solar technology and use of light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs, which draw less power compared to incandescent and fluorescent lights.
"As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage, let us recognize the inevitable truth that the state of our planet and our health and well-being are inherently related. We should persist against harmful human activities and shift towards environment-friendly lifestyle choices," he added.
Earth Hour is an annual global environmental movement organized by the World Wildlife Fund. It started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia and eventually spread to over 7,000 cities and 180 countries and territories.