Earth Hour 2023 unites more than 60 NGOs, NGAs and LGUs to give the biggest hour for Earth

The celebration of Earth Hour 2023 in the Philippines was a success, with iconic landmarks, local governments, and businesses across the country participating in the switch-off. 

Earth Hour is an annual event organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines (WWF-Philippines) that encourages people to turn off their lights for an hour as a symbol of their commitment to the planet. This global movement aims to raise awareness about climate change and the need for urgent action to mitigate its impacts. The event also seeks to highlight the value of nature as climate’s secret ally and the halting of biodiversity loss as one of the organization’s critical advocacies.

WWF-Philippines asserts support to the UN Environment Assembly in adopting new treaty on plastic pollution

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is one with the Philippines and other United Nations (UN) countries in a push for a new global treaty on plastic pollution, which will be discussed at this year’s UN Environment Assembly or UNEA 5.2.

The Philippines is a co-sponsor of the Peru and Rwanda Resolution which proposes that UNEA establishes an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) with a mandate to prepare a new legally binding global agreement that would form part of international law.

At UNEA 5.2, happening this February 28 to March 4, 2022 to also coincide with the 10th anniversary of its creation and the 50th anniversary of the UN Environment Programme, UN Member States are expected to adopt a decision to start negotiations on a new treaty on plastic pollution. More than three-fourths of the UN membership publicly support the development of a new global agreement along with more than 2.1 million individuals, 25 financial institutions, and more than 60 companies globally.

Plastic pollution reaching Philippine waters equivalent to 14 Titanics. WWF’s three-year project with Grieg foundation, a Norwegian foundation, aims to reduce the waste by 50%.

Plastic trash in the sea results in many problems for the environment, animals, and human settlements. A recent study found that there is a significant amount of plastic waste not adequately disposed of and end up polluting the environment. WWF-Philippines/Neal Roxas

Filipinos consume about 2.15 million tons of plastics in a year and from which 9% are recycled and 35% leaks into the open environment, according to a study conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), in a project funded by Grieg Foundation.

That amount of total plastics is equivalent to the weight of 41 Titanics. And out of that total, 14 of those massive ships (35%) end up as plastic waste in the ocean every year. A key pathway in how plastic pollution ends up in oceans is through ports where there is a high level of activity and traffic. 

Shakey’s Saves the Planet One Step at a Time

In its mission to provide a positive impact to the community, Shakey’s has partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to promote the #AyokoNgPlastik Movement.

Last August 8, 2019, a total of 131 volunteers from Shakey’s and WWF headed over to Las Pinas-Paranaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA) for a Coastal Clean-up.

LPPCHEA is a nature reserve of mangroves, ponds, lagoons and a mixed beach forest, and it homes 41 migratory bird species from China, Japan and Siberia. But because it is beside Manila Bay, the islands in LPPCHEA have been a catch basin for trash from the surrounding bodies of water especially during the rainy season.

13 Philippine Cities Qualify for One Planet City Challenge 2019 – 2020

An aerial view of the bustling Pasig City. © WWF-Philippines

Thirteen cities from Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao have successfully met the qualifications to participate in the 2019-2020 edition of World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) One Planet City Challenge (OPCC), following guidelines that were posted earlier this year by the international organization.

The OPCC, once known as the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) when it was first launched in 2011, is a biennial global challenge that recognizes feats of infrastructure, housing, transportation, and mobility enacted by cities in commitment to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future. WWF recognizes the importance and highlights the roles of cities in combatting climate change, with 55% of the human population residing in urban centers and with 70% of global emissions emanating from them.