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Our Planet, Our Time - Earth Hour 2012
SPC media release
Our Planet, Our Time - Earth Hour 2012
Saturday 31 March 2012, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) headquarters, Noumea, New Caledonia – An event that started out with some 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses in Australia turning off their lights for one hour has turned into an annual global event.
Since 2006, over 35 countries — including Brazil, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji and the USA — now participate in the annual Earth Hour, an event calling on individuals and businesses alike to collectively take a stand against climate change by turning off their lights and/or power for one full hour. This year the call is to look beyond the hour and to encourage individuals, households, businesses and communities to see how they can contribute to the effort to live in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way. These interventions may include everyday actions — such as opening windows for fresh air instead of using air conditioning, buying local produce from the markets, recycling — yet they are important in the fight against climate change as more and more people are encouraged to change their behaviour.
Dr Jimmie Rodgers, Director-General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) said, ‘An event like Earth Hour serves to remind us that as individuals and communities we need to start doing our bit, no matter how small, to contribute to positive change in order to safeguard our resources and our planet.’
He added, ‘At SPC we are mindful of the challenges that climate change brings and we have already begun a process to identify appropriate action to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and track and monitor our performance over time. SPC is also committed to helping Pacific Island countries and territories to identify emission reduction opportunities and address the risks posed by climate change.’
SPC has received widespread support to enhance its multisectoral approach to addressing climate change, and recently developed and adopted an internal Climate Change Engagement Strategy to guide this work. The strategy provides an integrated framework across the organisation to deliver a coordinated suite of climate change-related services to Pacific Island countries and territories, working in close partnership with other regional agencies. Activities range from promoting low-carbon development through energy efficiency and the renewable energy sector to supporting countries in their efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and other land based sources.
SPC is also strengthening and
enhancing working relationships with key international and
regional partners to ensure that SPC’s interventions are
contributing to the Pacific Framework on Climate Change
2006–2015, and United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) meetings, particularly in the area
of adaptation to climate change, vulnerability assessments
and delivery of appropriate science to guide adaptation.
Dr Rodgers concluded, ‘SPC will do its part in supporting in such collective efforts to address climate change.’
ends
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