Lanulau'ava Student Association has pledged to work with the National University of Samoa to make it the region’s first carbon-neutral tertiary institution.

L.S.A. President Grace Ah Young made the pledge during an interview with the Samoa Observer on Saturday on the eve of the global community marking Earth Hour on March 27.

She said the student-led association planned to mark the global event at the Apia Yacht Club at Mulinuu on Saturday evening and would switch off all non-essential electricity consumption from 8.30 to 9.30 pm.

Earth Hour provided an opportunity for people in Samoa to become more conscious of their impact on the environment and to make a stand against the impact of climate change, added Ms Ah Young.

"As Pacific people we are more vulnerable to climate change than developed countries," she told this newspaper.

"We are actually the first to experience climate change and we see it in our everyday lives."

According to Ms Ah Young, the association planned to participate in the global event for a while before they got an invitation from the Earth Hour Organisation to join the event.

And as part of the association’s wider contribution to the climate change debate, Ms Ah Young assured that they will work with Samoa’s university to move it towards becoming carbon-neutral.

"And if they do become a carbon neutral university they will be one of the first in the Pacific," she said.

The celebration of the Earth Hour will now become an annual event for the association to coincide with the global event.

Ms. Ah Young said that they are happy to be representing Samoa in the global event, while emphasising that climate change activists shouldn’t see themselves as being “too young or their voices too small” to participate.

"You do matter and every voice matters here. You have a story to tell and everybody has their own experiences that they can speak from and we believe that Lanulauava is a great platform for you to speak your experiences and for you to share them to the public," she added.