As in previous years, President and Sabina Higgins marked Earth Hour on Saturday 27 March.
During Earth Hour, all non-essential lights in Áras an Uachtaráin were switched off, with the exception of the President's "light in the window" for the diaspora.
Speaking about the initiative, President Higgins said:
"Sabina and I have requested that the lights in Áras an Uachtaráin be switched off during ‘Earth Hour’ - a global moment of solidarity to highlight the importance of taking action to protect our vulnerable planet from the effects of climate change.
Matters of sustainability, ecology and climate change have become policy victims of Covid-19. They must become centre stage once again as a matter of urgency.
Time is rapidly running out in our common battle against climate change and biodiversity loss. We must galvanise the sentiment that now exists for a greening of our economy and society, taking the necessary action, as indicated by the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, to turn the will of the citizens of the globe into a lived reality.
The symbolic act of switching off the lights may be viewed as an invitation to switch on our power as citizens. Now is the time for us all to commit to building a more sustainable society and economy as we look ahead to a brighter post-Covid existence on our shared, vulnerable planet."
