Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visionary plan to reduce carbon footprints and lessen global warming requires the participation of every individual. The ambitious plan is being realized, spearheaded by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change through Mission LiFE. Let’s find out its nitty-gritty…
- LiFE is a public movement to mobilize individuals to become ‘Pro-Planet People.’
- If you want to change the world, start with yourself. Responsible individual climate action is the key to safeguarding our collective future.
- India’s per capita carbon footprint is 60% lower than the global average. This is because our lifestyle is still rooted in sustainable traditional practices. Sustainability has always been a part of our tradition, culture, and values.
- The LiFE movement seeks to transform persons into ‘pro-planet people’, who would adopt sustainable lifestyles.
Forty-four crore saplings were planted with 3.87 crore participants in 36 states involving 79 central government ministries as part of Mission Lifestyles for Environment (LiFE), launched by Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi at COP26 in Glasgow on November 1, 2021. This is a program to make our cities cleaner and more habitable for the citizens. Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Mr. Bhupender Yadav, too, launched the Meri Life mobile app for citizen volunteers to contribute their bit in making this earth more liveable. India is the first country in the world to include LiFE in its nationally determined
contributions.
NOT JUST PLANTATIONS
The Mission Life program isn’t only about planting trees. It has three phases. The phase involves nudging individuals across the world to practice simple yet effective environment-friendly actions in their daily lives. The second step is to bring about changes in large-scale individual demand that are expected to gradually nudge industries and markets to respond and tailor supply and procurement as per the revised demands. The third step is to influence the demand and supply dynamics to trigger shifts in large-scale industrial and government policies that can support both sustainable consumption and production.
In short, the program is about gearing up people to meet the challenges posed by global warming and climate change. It’s all about reducing waste, reusing things, adopting a healthy lifestyle, adopting sustainable food systems, and saying no to single plastic besides saving water and energy.
SOLUTION TO PLASTIC POLLUTION
World Environment Day 2023 was celebrated around the theme “Solutions to Plastic Pollution,” a topic that aligns with one of the 7 themes of Mission LiFE: “Saying No to Single-Use Plastics” and is also linked to the implementation of several LiFE actions. Prime Minister Modi addressed the gathering on World Environment Day via video message. Union Minister of EF & CC, Mr. Yadav, saw the exhibition, which included paintings and a digital exhibition on LiFE.
Mission LiFE can become a mass movement for an environmentally conscious lifestyle. What is needed today is mindful and deliberate utilization instead of mindless and destructive consumption, the Prime Minister said at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow.
SCARY SCENARIO
Environmental degradation and climate change impact ecosystems and populations worldwide. Without timely action, 800 million to 3 billion people will experience chronic water scarcity due to droughts at 2°C. Without urgent action by all, the global economy could lose up to 18% of GDP by 2050.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), if 1 out of 8 billion people worldwide adopted environment-friendly behaviors in their daily lives, global carbon emissions could drop up to 20 percent. The 2020 UNDP report ‘The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene’ says that humans wield more power over the planet than ever before. In the wake of COVID-19, record-breaking temperatures, and spiraling inequality, it is time to use that power to redefine what we mean by progress, where our carbon and consumption footprints are no longer hidden.
INDIA’S MARCH
While the world is focusing on policy and regulatory measures to address the environmental crisis, India has demonstrated success in harnessing the power of collective action to solve complex problems. The Swachh Sagar Surakshit Sagar campaign aimed to remove approximately 15,000 metric tons of waste from 75 beaches in 75 days. The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) led to the construction and use of over 100 million toilets in rural India within 7 years. The Ujjwala Scheme increased households with LPG connections from 62 percent in 2015 to 99.8 percent in 2021. Mission Lifestyle for Environment recognizes that Indian culture and living traditions are inherently sustainable. The importance of conserving our precious natural resources and living in harmony with nature is emphasized in our ancient scriptures. The need of the hour is to tap into that ancient wisdom and spread the message to as many people as possible. Mission LiFE seeks to channel the efforts of individuals and communities into a global mass movement of positive behavioral change.
