READ: Miss Earth 2017 Karen Ibasco’s full Q&A

MANILA, Philippines – There were two question and answer portions during the Miss Earth 2017 coronation night and the winner, the Philippines’ Karen Ibasco, rocked both.

For the first segment, the Top 8 finalists were given 30 seconds to express their thoughts on a hashtag that they had picked out of a bowl. Karen chose the hashtag #biodiversity.

She said: “Biodiversity is very important. We are very known in the Philippines to have a lot of biodiversity, and they’re very important because they also balances the ecosystem. It’s very important for us to protect them, because as we protect them, we protect the environment to help save our home, our planet, our Earth, to be a better place to live in. Thank you.”

For the second question and answer segment, the final 4 delegates were all asked the same question: “Who or what do you think is the biggest enemy of Mother Earth and why?”

Karen responded: “I believe that the real problem in this world is not climate change; the real problem is us because of our ignorance and apathy. What we have to do is to start changing our ways, to start recalibrating our minds, and redirecting our steps, because together, as a global community, our micro efforts will have a macro effect to help save our home, our planet. Thank you.”

Karen was crowned by Ecuador’s Katherine Espin on Saturday, November 4, at the Mall of Asia Arena. (FULL LIST: Winners, Miss Earth 2017) – Rappler.com