Earth Hour 2024: DENR urges public to urgently address planetary crisis

This image shows the globe in front of a mall during the Earth Hour environmental campaign in Manila on March 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Saturday that planetary crisis is an urgent issue and must be addressed by everyone.

In the DENR’s statement, some of the issues it cited in the present planetary crisis include uncontrolled consumption of fossil fuels, and problems to access safe and sustainable water.

“While global discourse on climate resilience continues, we must face the urgency of our planetary crisis. The Earth Hour reminds us of both the promise and the perils of our current trajectories,” DENR Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said.

READ: Things you can do during Earth Hour 2024

Yulo made the statement on the day of Earth Hour 2024.

She also encouraged thought leaders to create solutions to solve the problem of plastic pollution, and that a top-down approach must be implemented to enjoy change in the earth.

“As we engineer behavioral and social change, we urge our knowledge and innovation leaders across all sectors to confront the socio-economic realities of plastic use, and develop and design alternative materials that are as functional and affordable as petroleum-based plastic,” she said.

“We broke this planet. We may still have a chance to fix it – but we must act today,” she concluded.

READ: Earth Hour 2024: DOH commits full participation

Earth Hour is an annual movement organized by international environmental group World Wide Fund for Nature, which encourages people to turn off electric lights for one hour from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.