On Saturday, the city of Bangkok will go dark for an hour, joining thousands of cities around the world for Earth Hour, an annual event in which lights are switched off to raise awareness about environmental protection. Sopon Pisuttiwong, Bangkok's deputy governor, has announced that lights will be turned off from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, joining 7,000 other cities in darkness.
Simply turning off the lights for an hour will save the city millions of baht. The city's energy use was decreased by 2,483 megawatts during last year's "lights-off hour." It ended up saving a total of 10.15 million baht in energy costs.
The Emerald Buddha Temple, Grand Palace, Wat Arun, Sao Ching Cha, Rama VIII Bridge, and Wat Saket are among the 126 places in Bangkok where the lights will be turned off. Many building owners have also stated that they would participate in Earth Hour by turning on the lights.
During Earth Hour, people are encouraged to switch off any lights that are not in use. Those who participate are encouraged to use the hashtags #Connect2Earth, #SpeakUpForNature, and #BangkokSustainability in their social media posts.
Since 2008, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has taken part in Earth Hour. Since then, the city claims that it has lowered its carbon footprint by 12,227 tonnes and saved a total of 80.87 million baht in energy costs.
Eva Zabey, the executive director of Business for Nature, said in a recent news release that this year's Earth Hour comes at a "sensitive" moment.
“Leading businesses agree that they must act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reverse environmental degradation by 2030.
Earth Hour takes place in a pivotal year when world leaders are expected to reach an ambitious global agreement on the environment. Let us take advantage of this symbolic opportunity to consider how we can work together – through culture, industry, and government – to shift our trajectory toward a nature-positive, net-zero, and equitable future.”
Keep updated with phanganist.com by following our Facebook page.
