KUCHING, March 22 – It will be a challenge for a rapidly developing nation like Malaysia to see that the Earth Hour event is being used seriously to address matters that contributed to climate change, such as emission, deforestation and pollution, social activist Datuk Seri Ang Lai Soon said today.
Defining the significance of Earth Hour, he said, the event which would be celebrated tomorrow at 8.30pm, serves to draw the people’s attention to the need for action over and beyond the token gesture of switching off the lights for one hour.
“The Earth Hour gives us the opportunity to reflect on not only the benefits of electricity but also its cost, reflected in not only in the bills we receive but also in the ‘hidden’ cost of power station emissions and their impact on our atmosphere,” he said in conjunction with Earth Hour 2013.
He said there was wide consensus of opinion that the climate was affected due to emission from power stations and motor vehicles, particularly in an industrialised society. Last year’s campaign of “I Will If You Will” led to two African countries, Uganda and Botswana, setting up re-deforestation programmes and Russia strengthening its laws on oceanic oil pollution, he said.
BERNAMA
