Reelectionist Senator Sonny Angara urged Filipinos not to miss out on the chance to pitch in for the global effort to protect the planet and fight climate change by joining this year’s Earth Hour.

“Turning our lights off for one hour may be a simple act, but when done collectively it could make a huge difference in energy consumption and help reduce the devastating effects of global warming,” Angara said.

Earth Hour 2019, with the theme #Connect2Earth, is happening from 8:30-9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 30.

Organized by World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Earth Hour is a global environmental movement aimed at inspiring and empowering individuals, businesses, organizations and governments to take tangible action for the planet. 

It has grown from a symbolic event in Sydney, Australia in 2007 to the world’s largest grassroots environmental movement spanning over 7,000 cities and 180 countries and territories.

The Philippines has been an active participant of Earth Hour since 2009, and is consistently one of the environmental movement’s biggest advocates.

Angara said the country’s participation in the annual event signifies its steadfast commitment to protecting nature and unwavering support to calls for global action against climate change.

“Our participation in the yearly environmental event is one way of showing that the Filipinos firmly stand with the rest of the world regarding issues facing the planet and climate change,” Angara said.

“We all have to act against the rising global temperature and have to focus on how to save energy for our future generations,” he added.

In 2015, Angara filed a resolution reaffirming the support of the Senate for the objectives of Earth Hour after the Philippines was named as one of the countries in the world highly vulnerable to climate change impacts.

According to Angara, the objectives of Earth Hour are particularly relevant to the Philippines given its vulnerability to natural disasters.