Earth Hour set March 23, 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
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00:00 The country is in the throes of summer and El Nino, and there is no telling when this extended dry spell or weather scourge is going to end.
00:08 Hence, it behooves each and every patriotic Filipino to come together and join in tomorrow's Earth Hour,
00:14 in which we are reminded that the gifts and resources we have are not in unlimited supply.
00:20 So we must conserve, like by spending an hour in the dark tomorrow night,
00:24 and refraining from using plastic products and/or disposing them properly.
00:29 And we are very fortunate tonight to have Attorney Angela, or Gia Ibai,
00:34 the National Director for Earth Hour Philippines, to shed even more light on tomorrow's Earth Hour.
00:39 Good evening, Attorney Gia. Thank you so much for coming to Up Close tonight.
00:42 Well, thank you for inviting us, and we're very privileged to be here.
00:46 Okay. So, first off, Earth Hour has been-- well, it started worldwide back in 2007, right?
00:53 So it has been going on for a really long time.
00:55 But objectives-wise, what are the main goals for tomorrow night's hour-long power shutdown?
01:01 And is there a threshold, a goal that needs to be met for this collaboration?
01:09 So, well, the main goal is really just for people to come together and to celebrate and to show solidarity,
01:16 and that we can actually work together to have something good for our planet.
01:20 In terms of goals, well, of course, we want to show to the world that Filipinos are enjoying,
01:27 and many of us in the Philippines are actually going to participate.
01:31 Our Department of Energy said that they would track the load drop,
01:35 which is that one hour of drop of energy for that 8.30 to 9.30,
01:41 because we're asking people to, in fact, switch off their non-essential lights and appliances.
01:46 But beyond that, we do have a goal of looking at the challenge of plastic pollution.
01:52 So really switching off plastic pollution, because we know that in the Philippines,
01:58 and we're working closely with different cities, and in particular, our host city for Earth Hour, the city of Manila,
02:05 they do have a goal of reducing leakage of plastic in nature by 35 percent.
02:12 So we want to be able to reach that, and we're using the platform of Earth Hour to do that.
02:17 35 percent by a certain year?
02:19 By 20, actually by this year.
02:21 By this year, wow.
02:22 Yes, and they want to increase that percentage by 2030.
02:27 And I forgot what exactly is the percentage, but we're hoping to be able to do that.
02:32 And to be able to do that is doing multi-pronged approach.
02:37 So it's working with local government, but it's also working with the communities,
02:42 those who have to deal already with the waste itself.
02:45 And specifically, we're working with women who are doing waste management
02:50 to be able to bring out their entrepreneurship and mentor them to work closely at how do we, in fact,
02:57 how can they, in fact, develop a business out of the waste that is being generated.
03:02 Wow, I like that. I like that.
03:03 Okay, so this movement is obviously a grassroots global movement, you know,
03:10 and people have heard about Earth Hour going beyond the hour and things like that.
03:15 But what are some of the, I would say, biggest milestones that has been accomplished
03:22 since Earth Hour was started here in the Philippines?
03:24 And perhaps you can also tell me about some globally.
03:27 Yes, I think one of the biggest things that we've been able to accomplish was
03:31 we were actually back in 2014, 2013, 2014, given the honor as Earth Hour Hero Country
03:40 because of the number of cities and municipalities and towns that actually joined to celebrate Earth Hour.
03:47 And we are very proud of that. I don't know if other countries have been given that honor.
03:52 And, in fact, the way Earth Hour has evolved through the years is not just to count those numbers,
03:58 but really to look at the impact. And we've used Earth Hour as a platform to launch other initiatives.
04:04 And other, even local governments have used their own Earth Hour activities to launch,
04:10 or at least to showcase to the citizens and the residents that they do have initiatives on the environment.
04:17 And we welcome that because we need to show to people that these actually work.
04:22 And that if we do it on a constant basis, then that's where impact really happens
04:27 because it becomes part of one's own lifestyle.
04:30 Yeah, I like the way you said it needs to be constant.
04:32 So we are looking at creating initiatives that are part of your lifestyle.
04:37 So you go beyond Earth Hour.
04:39 Yes.
04:40 So it's more of collaborating to protect the planet, regardless of whether you're a business,
04:43 a community, like you said, or an individual.
04:46 That's true.
04:47 Yeah. So earlier, Attorney Guilla, you mentioned that plastic pollution is horrible.
04:52 In fact, I believe it is a massively worsening problem in the Philippines.
04:56 I think we are also one of the highest plastic waste producers in the world.
05:02 What is--I would say one of the biggest issues here is that some of the users of plastic
05:10 are also those that eke out a living using plastic, you know,
05:15 or can't afford to buy more environmentally friendly products.
05:20 How do we still somehow be able to, you know, be able to live up to this commitment
05:29 of shying away from plastic, veering away from plastic,
05:32 and being able to also help people that can't afford to buy, like, more than a sachet a day or something?
05:39 That's true. In fact, that revolves around doing a lot of multi-pronged approaches.
05:45 So one is looking at the consumption side.
05:48 So getting also governments to look at how do we, in fact, encourage or provide incentives
05:54 for those who are at the, you know, maybe at the poverty level,
05:59 so that they don't have to go and buy products which are in small quantities.
06:06 And maybe to provide also incentives for the producers or manufacturers,
06:11 so that they would, in fact, also collect some of those waste itself.
06:15 In fact, we already have the extended producers responsibility law,
06:20 which was just recently enacted, which were in producers are now being asked to account also for those kinds of waste.
06:29 So I think it's not just one approach. I mean, policy can help and legislation can help.
06:35 But we also have to, as a community, also get our own act together
06:42 and tell people and those within our circle of influence that,
06:46 "Hey, we need to act and do something to ensure that we don't add more plastic pollution into nature."
06:55 Yeah, and I think, you know, it's important to note, how does this trickle down to, say, the Sari-Sari store, right?
07:01 Where the sachet economy is one of the biggest, you know, it's rife and well because of the Sari-Sari distribution.
07:09 So right now, it is very concerning.
07:13 We all know the Philippines is up there as far as plastic pollution is concerned.
07:18 But would you have data about how many tons of plastic waste we Filipinos dump in our waterways on a yearly basis, for example?
07:27 So globally, there are like 11 million tons of plastic pollution annually that's being dumped.
07:34 11 million tons.
07:35 11 million tons into our oceans.
07:37 Now, in the Philippines, based on data that we've been able to gather and working also with other organizations,
07:43 of kilotons of plastic pollution, of which only around, I think, 6 to 9 percent are recycled.
07:52 35 percent of that plastic is actually leaked back into the open environment.
07:58 And that's what we want to be able to reduce.
08:00 Not the 35 percent because that's a big chunk of the amount of plastic.
08:07 If people are not able to, for example, segregate well and ensure that they, in fact, put their plastic waste in proper containers,
08:18 or in fact, at the end, is to refuse to use plastic, that's a decision that everybody can make.
08:26 And we want to be able to remind people that you, in fact, can have the solutions at the palm of your hands.
08:32 But we're also here to help those who are at the other end of the spectrum, those who already have the waste and are the ones picking the waste.
08:39 Okay, yes.
08:40 So that's where the waste management programs and mentorship, part of the work that WWF does, is also there
08:49 so that we can ensure also that their livelihood also gets uplifted at the same time.
08:55 And to also provide them that mentorship to also do good businesses coming out from the waste products that is already there in the mainstream.
09:06 Yeah.
09:07 You know, it's very important to note that solving the plastic waste problem in our country is a perfect opportunity for tie-ups with public-private partnerships.
09:18 And we've also seen online, you know, global initiatives from inventors and scientists where, you know,
09:26 they've successfully managed to, I would say, clear their waterways, their canals, their esteros from plastic pollution.
09:33 You know, isn't there any way we as, you know, earthhour.org and WWF can tie up with government agencies also abroad
09:42 to be able to curb the plastic pollution situation in the country?
09:46 Oh, definitely. For us in WWF, we work closely with governments, both locally and internationally.
09:53 In fact, our work in Manila City, which is the No Plastics in Nature initiative and the Plastic Smart Cities is funded by a radio, television back in Germany.
10:08 And so we're in Norway, I mean, but so we're very glad that we get this funding from them to be able to do these initiatives.
10:15 We also work closely with businesses. This public-private partnership, in a way, we also look towards business to encourage them to, in fact,
10:24 look for solutions in their own processes so that they actually generate less waste.
10:30 Right.
10:31 And or maybe look for alternatives because the technology to maybe do such chase might be that at the end of the day,
10:39 they become more biodegradable rather than just the main plastics.
10:43 You know, statistics say that there are like 591 pieces of sachets that every Filipino, an average Filipino uses or consumes yearly.
10:55 Yearly? That's every Filipino?
10:57 Every average Filipino. So that's a staggering statistics.
11:01 And I think there should be a way to at least cut that in half, not necessarily totally remove it.
11:09 But we start with things that are simple, such as single-use plastics.
11:14 If you know that it's a single-use plastic, just refuse to use it so that that doesn't contribute to the waste that already is going to be going back into the environment.
11:25 So one of the biggest messages I'm getting here, Attorney Guilla, is that it may be called Earth Hour,
11:30 but we are enjoying to go beyond the hour and continue our environmentally sustainable practices throughout the year in our lives.
11:40 Please do invite our viewers in the Philippines and around the world to take part in Earth Hour tomorrow.
11:47 Yes. So first of all, we'd like to thank everyone who has been supportive of Earth Hour since we started this back in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, and in the Philippines in 2008.
11:58 We're very happy that many people, many cities, government agencies, businesses have really embraced Earth Hour.
12:06 And we call upon you to celebrate again with us for Earth Hour 2024.
12:11 The main event that we have for a switch-off will be at the Cartilian ng Katipunan at the Manila City Hall, and we will have a program that starts at 7 o'clock.
12:22 But we will also have a solutions fair, which starts at 4 o'clock, where you will get to meet social entrepreneurs with sustainable products and sustainable solutions that you can probably implement.
12:35 And also NGOs who are also working to be able to save our environment.
12:40 And we'll be introducing our Earth Hour Music Ambassador, and we're very quite excited with that.
12:46 But as mentioned also in our discussion, it's really going beyond the hour.
12:50 So three things you want people to remember.
12:53 One is to switch off your non-essential lights and appliances, but switch off from plastic pollution, and please go beyond the hour.
13:00 Because everything we do should be redound to the benefit of the environment and for our Mother Earth, and every day we should be able to do that.
13:08 Yes, we do not have a Planet B.
13:10 True enough.
13:11 Thank you very much for your time, Attorney.
13:13 Thank you.
13:14 We learned so much from you. Very inspired.