Each person should learn how they can contribute to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Saturday afternoon.

He was speaking at the “Imagine for Earth – and Life – Friendly Energy” event at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. The event wraps up on Sunday at 9.30pm.

Chadchart said global warming was an issue close to Thai people’s hearts because the country is now experiencing double the volume of rain. Also, he said, Bangkok is among the 10 cities in the world most affected by global warming.

“Hence, we need to work together to reduce emissions in Bangkok with small gestures like turning off air conditioners or using public transport instead of driving,” he said.

He added that Bangkok saved 78 megawatts of energy and cut down CO2 emissions by 20 tonnes last year when residents turned off lights and unused appliances for an hour from 8.30 to 9.30pm to mark Earth Hour.

Many cities across the world turn dark for an hour on March 25 every year as a symbolic gesture in the fight against global warming.

He added that Bangkokians need to work hard in reducing emissions, adding that the capital emits up to 40 million tonnes of CO2 annually.

“All residents should become aware of net-zero goals and emissions,” Chadchart said, adding that reducing emissions could result in new business opportunities and generate revenue for the country.

This year’s Earth Hour event is being held by Bangkok and other partners under the Clean, Affordable and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia (CASE) project, such as Thailand Development Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University’s Energy Research Institute and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

The event aims to educate the general public on global warming and what they can do to transition to a low-carbon society.

On Saturday, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) joined residents, businesses and city officials in turning off unnecessary lights and appliances for an hour. Similar activities were held in more than 7,000 cities in 190 countries.

In Bangkok, lights had been turned off at five public venues, namely the Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha Temple, the Temple of Dawn, the Giant Swing, Rama VIII Bridge and Wat Saket or the Golden Mount Temple.

This hour of darkness helped the city save 36 megawatts and cut down CO2 emissions by 5.2 tonnes. These savings are equivalent to 43 Bangkok-Chiang Mai flights, 31,200 kilometres driven in a diesel car, or 23,400 households turning off lights for an hour.

Bangkok began its Earth Hour campaigns in 2008 and has saved 22,476 megawatts of electricity worth more than 81 million baht since then. The 15 Earth Hours observed so far have also reduced 12,255 tonnes of CO2.

Bangkok has been working with 25 partners in four sectors on mitigating global warming, including public transportation, energy, waste management and green area.

Last year, its 25 partners were able to reduce 26,289.3 tonnes of CO2 emissions, of which 1,485.6 tonnes came from public transport, 23,594.1 tonnes from the energy sector, 1,140.9 tonnes from waste management sector and 68.7 tonnes from the green area sector.