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Hundreds of residents of Joburg, young and old, descended on the Joburg Zoo on Saturday, 30 March, to celebrate Earth Hour 2019.

They came equipped with solar lights and torches, picnic baskets and more to take part in this symbolic act informed by a critical and deepening crisis facing our planet.

Earth Hour is a global call for the protection of the planet and for people to take a stand against climate change. The event was held under the theme “protecting life on earth” and the campaign focuses on efforts made to preserve the earth’s biodiversity, challenging individuals, communities, schools, businesses and municipalities to take the lead in implementing climate actions.

A number of city departments took part in the event including Environment and Infrastructure Services, Joburg City Parks and Zoo, City Power and Joburg Water. Activities on the day included dance and music, behind the scenes tour and glow in the dark walk.

Speaking at the event, Member of the Mayoral Committee and acting MMC for Environment & Infrastructure Services Cllr Reuben Masango said Earth Hour would be meaningless without concrete policies and programmes to reduce the City’s carbon footprint.

“The City recently undertook a study to look at efficient and alternative ways to contribute to reducing climate change by retrofitting 136 council-owned buildings with energy-efficient lights and motion sensors as part of reducing energy consumption,” said MMC Masango.

There are numerous other projects being rolled out by the City and its entities such as planting of over 130 000 trees by City Parks over the past three years, green buildings programmes, waste, biodiversity, transport, air quality and more, he concluded.

The crowd agreed that humans have the power to make a difference and ensure that future generations inherit a better world in which resources can be used efficiently.

Climate change is causing many challenges around the world such as rising sea levels, floods, heat waves, droughts and erratic rainfall patterns. These have had a negative impact on countries’ food security. The City is in a process of developing a strategic climate change action plan to achieve its aspiration to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

After the tour, MMC Masango led the way and signed the Earth Hour pledge to raise awareness on the importance of Earth Hour.

Eskom’s National Spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe said on Twitter that South Africa saved 554MW during Earth Hour from 8:30pm to 9:30 pm on Saturday. “The saving was higher than the 410MW recorded at the same period last year.”

Issued by The City Of Johannesburg