Mayor on Earth Hour 2022: ‘Let’s aim for 100 percent participation’

Baguio City will aim for 100 percent participation in the Earth Hour observance slated on March 26 at 8:30 p.m.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong encouraged residents and business owners to join in their own homes and establishments by switching off lights, appliances or observing energy conservation measures for at least 1 hour in response to the worldwide call to address the environmental crisis.

“This is a worthwhile activity considering the current fuel crisis and the continuing environmental destruction that threatens us.  We all have to do our part to take care of nature,” the mayor said.

As in the past years, the city government will support the “global lights out” event by mounting its own program and switching off non-essential lights in public areas.

Earth Hour Pilipinas National Director Atty. Angela Consuelo Ibay said Earth Hour started as a symbolic lights out event in 2007 and has since “grown into a yearly mission to speak up for nature and has become the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment.

“Since 2007, Earth Hour has rippled into more than 17,900 landmarks in 192 countries and territories thereby sparking an online conversation across the bringing about more than 9.6 billion impressions with related hashtags trending in 42 countries,” Ibay told the mayor.

She said the program continues to focus on “making people understand the gravity of the environmental crisis” as also experienced in the Philippines when it was hit by typhoon “Odette”.

“The last decade alone was the hottest ever recorded with over 60 percent of vertebrate life already lost.  Millions are faced with hunger, thirst and poverty now amplified twofold by the COVID-19 crisis, taking many Filipino lives with it,” Ibay said.“As such we are imploring all Filipinos to participate in #EarthHour2022 as we switch off our inaction and speak up for nature, through our words but more importantly, our actions.” – Aileen P. Refuerzo