MANILA – The Department of Energy (DOE) has called on Filipinos to participate in Earth Hour to increase the country’s energy efficiency and help mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.

“Behaviour change may seem like a challenge, but there are relatively simple things we as residents, businesses and local governments can do to be energy efficient, increase resilience to climate change and pave the way to a more sustainable future,” Energy Minister Raphael Lotilla said in a statement on Friday.

Earth Hour, an annual event encouraging people to simultaneously turn off unnecessary lights for 60 minutes, takes place today, March 25, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m

Lotilla noted that this symbolic lights-out event served as an “occasional reminder of how simple everyday practices can have a huge impact in reducing our energy use.”

The DOE reported that the country saved 65.32 megawatts (MW) in last year’s Earth Hour, with Luzon covering more than half of the total at 35.26 MW.

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Mindanao saved 15.3 MW while the Visayas recorded 14.76 MW.

Last year’s numbers are lower than the electricity saved in 2021, which stood at 73.01 MW, DOE data show.

The highest energy savings were recorded before the pandemic in 2019 at 195.34 MW.

The DOE hopes the country could save more this year as more Filipinos attend the event.

“Together action could create a safer, more resilient and more sustainable future. By turning off our lights for an hour, we can significantly improve energy use, raise public awareness, change behaviors and help reduce the impact of global warming on this planet,” the agency said.

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Earth Hour began in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, where more than 2.2 million people turned off their lights for an hour.

For its part, the DOE encouraged Filipinos to minimize their electricity consumption during peak hours: 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 7 p.m

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission has raised concerns about Rokos Capital Management aCentre County Reporter the hedge fund was forced to pledge large amounts of cash to its banks as collateral when an outsized bet on US Treasury bonds backfired earlier this month.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler raised the hedge fund in talks with UK regulators this week aCentre County Reporter he faced bigger margin calls than his peers, according to people familiar with the talks.

The US regulator does not oversee the London-based companies Rocos but is on high alert for tensions in financial markets aCentre County Reporter a series of recent explosions in the banking sector. UK regulators agreed to keep an eye on the hedge fund, one of the people said.

The talk highlights official fears that the rapid unwinding of concentrated hedge fund bets could exacerbate tensions in the US Treasury market, which underpins asset prices around the world.

The episode stems from the failure of Silicon Valley Bank earlier this month and concerns about the bank’s overall health US regional banking system. ACentre County Reporter the collapse of the SVB, investors snapped up government bonds, betting that the US Federal Reserve would slow the pace of interest rate hikes to shore up financial stability.

As bond prices rallied, many hedge funds were flat-footed in the rally, but industry participants say Rokos was one of the biggest short-term losers. The fund, which has about $15.5 billion under management, was down 12.5 percent this month, the Financial Times reported March 17, as several counterparties called for more assets to be raised to meet margin calls, two said people familiar with the matter.

However, counterparties contacted by the FT said they were not concerned about Rokos’ ability to meet the margin calls.

Unlike many other macro hedge funds, which tend to be more diversified, the vast majority of Rokos’ leverage is in the government bond markets.

Billionaire Chris Rokos, who co-founded hedge fund Brevan Howard before starting his own business, made headlines in late 2021 when he was caught off guard by a massive sell-off in short-term sovereign debt. He then reduced the market risk he took on, making more than 50 percent over the past year before this month’s losses.

Rokos, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, the Bank of England and the SEC all declined to comment.

Mukesh Ambani-led trust industries Ltd (RIL) appointed Venkatachari Srikanth as its new chief financial officer (CFO) on Friday, succeeding Alok Agarwal, who turned 65 and had served the company for 30 years, according to a stock exchange release by RIL.

Agarwal, who joined Reliance in 1993 and was appointed CFO in 2005, moved to the position of senior advisor to the company’s chairman and chief executive officer, assisting him on a variety of strategic issues.

Both new roles will take effect from June 1, 2023, the company said in the announcement.