The Department of Health (DOH) encouraged Filipinos to participate in the observance of Earth Hour 2023, an annual event that seeks to raise awareness about climate change.
The Earth Hour is aimed at inspiring people to take initiatives in “generating awareness regarding the current situation and solutions to help address the climate crisis, and likewise promote measures that help reduce energy consumption through the one-hour switch off,” the DOH, together with World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines (WWF-Philippines) in a statement on Friday, March 24.
This event has been known since 2007 as the “lights off” movement, where households, businesses, cities across the world turn off all non-essential lights for one hour in a symbolic message of unity to raise awareness regarding climate change.
An in-person “Sustainability Fair” will be held on Saturday, March 25, in the Quezon Memorial Circle and this will have a “switch-off program and a Run N’ Ride activity,” the DOH said.
The program will feature delivery of key messages from WWF-Philippines and government officials, talks from WWF ambassadors, musical performances, a video presentation, and a countdown to Earth Hour at 8:30 p.m. There will also be various activities during the switch-off hour and booths in the Sustainability Fair, it added.
“Earth Hour 2023, with the theme ‘The Biggest Hour for Earth,’ seeks to engage Filipino audiences through an in-person event to show solidarity and support in addressing Climate Change,” the DOH said.
“The DOH recognizes the crucial role of the environment in promoting health and well-being for Filipinos. Hence, it is also our responsibility to care for the environment as it would then take care of future generations of Filipinos,” said DOH Officer-in-Charge Dr. Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire.
The Philippines was identified as the fourth-most affected country in the world by long-term climate change by the Global Climate Risk Index of 2019, the DOH said.
“The World Risk Report of 2022 ranked the Philippines first out of 180 countries with the highest disaster risk, as the geographic location of the country renders us vulnerable to geographic hazards brought by changing climate,” the DOH added.
“These climate-fueled changes can be felt in the intensity and number of ‘extreme weather events'’ such as stronger typhoons, longer droughts, and higher temperatures. These weather events in turn cause economic, financial, environmental, and health problems for many Filipinos,” it furthered.