'Climate change cannot be fought from conference tables': PM Modi calls for collective action to protect environment

Washington: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for people’s participation in the fight against climate change. He said that an idea becomes a mass movement when it moves from “discussion tables to dinner tables.”

Addressing a conference organised by the World Bank, Modi said that when people become conscious that simple acts in their daily lives are powerful, there will be a very positive impact on the environment.

“People across the world hear a lot about climate change. Many of them feel a lot of anxiety because they do not know what they can do about it. They are constantly made to feel that only governments or global institutions have a role. If they learn that they can also contribute, their anxiety will turn into action,” he said.

During the address, he cited a program launched by him and the UN secretary-general last year called “Mission Life”. He said that the aim of launching the program was to democratise the battle against climate change.

“Climate change cannot be fought from conference tables alone. It has to be fought from the dinner tables in every home,” he told the conference being held on the sidelines of the annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Lauding India’s efforts toward creating a more positive impact on the environment, PM Modi said “In the last few years, people-driven efforts have improved the sex-ratio in many parts of India. It was the people who laid a massive cleanliness drive, be it rivers, beaches, or roads. They are ensuring public places are free of litter, and it was the people who made the switch to LED bulbs a success. Nearly 370 million LED bulbs have been sold in India.”

He pointed out the fact that farmers in India ensure coverage of nearly 7,00,000 hectares of farmland through micro-irrigation.

He said, ” Under Mission Life, our efforts are spread across many domains, such as making local bodies environment-friendly, saving water, saving energy, reducing waste, and e-wastes, adopting healthy lifestyles, adoption of natural farming, promotion of millets.”

These efforts will save over 22 billion units of energy, save nine trillion litres of water, reduce waste by 375 million tons, recycle almost one million tons of e-waste, and generate around 170 million additional costs saving by 2030, he said.

With inputs from agencies

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