United Nations, New York, 21 September 2024 – Today at the Summit of the Future side event held here in the United Nations Headquarters, India’s Secretary Ms. Leena Nandan from Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, spoke about India’s global efforts in promoting sustainable lifestyles and empowering the youth for a green economy. This was themed under “Empowering Youth for Sustainable Futures: Intergenerational Responsibility and Skills for a Just Transition,” indicating the extreme urgency for the young generation in a globally changing environment towards sustainability.
The focus was, for the most part, on youth empowerment and building intergenerational responsibility toward climate change. Ms Nandan’s address drew attention to the initiatives of India, particularly the Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), and progress since its launch by Prime Minister Narendra Modi across the globe in 2022.
Mission LiFE: A Global Initiative for Sustainable Lifestyles
An introductory video running for two minutes on Mission LiFE was shown at the start of the session. The video presented a succinct synopsis of India’s approach to responsible living. Ms Nandan explained that Mission LiFE urges all people toward adopting sustainable lifestyles as part of their everyday lives. All of these range from management of waste, water usage, and energy consumption. The initiative promotes environmentally conducive choice, which responds to the call for ‘acting for SDGs’ especially SDG 12, responsible consumption and production.
She mentioned that Mission LiFE was formally launched on the global platform during October 2022 in the presence of UN Secretary General António Guterres and is being pursued both in India and at the global level. If this way is implemented widely, the GHG emissions globally will be reduced by 2 billion tonnes annually in the year 2030, as reported by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
International Support for India’s Climate Action
India is now taking this path overseas to avoid ‘unsustainable lifestyles’. The world has applauded the Indian leadership. Ms Nandan said that India’s climate action resolution was co-sponsored by Bolivia and Sri Lanka. This co-sponsorship turned into the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) adopting during its sixth session held in Nairobi in March 2024 a resolution on sustainable lifestyles.
Apart from the Indian mission LiFE, the climate action nudges of this government are also multilateral and global cooperation efforts. The engagement of India in international councils like the International Solar Alliance and the Global Biofuel Alliance demonstrates the commitment of this nation to clean energy solutions and the production of global green jobs.
Youths Empowerment and Green Jobs
She further said another very important point she made was how to engage the youth into actions for climate. She said that nearly 28 percent of India’s population is below 30 years, and that young demographic holds a huge potential for making the green economy transition. India sees this as the demographic advantage – be it sustainable growth that won’t leave anyone behind.
The New Education Policy of India, the Green Skill Development Programme, and the Skill Council for Green Jobs (SCGJ) form the most important pillars in the strategy India has drafted towards providing a skilled work force ready for green jobs. With education and training tailored around the sustainable industries, the youth of this land would be ready to lead and occupy sectors like renewable energy, waste management, and green technology.
Ms. Nandan spoke about the SCGJ’s vision for 2047, where India’s clean energy sector is going to have a good 30-35 million jobs. International Solar Alliance and Global Biofuel Alliance are going to lead to green jobs on the international scale as well.
Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam: A Global Call for Tree Planting
The speech by Ms Nandan also focused on the visionary initiative taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the name of Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam, an initiative taken earlier this year. This is a call to action by citizens worldwide to plant trees in the memory of their mothers and Mother Earth. The initiative has already exceeded 750 million trees planted in India between June 5th and September 17th, which is 7 million per day on average.
It has been well-supported through all of India as a movement motivating global citizens to participate in pro-planet acts. Mass tree planting is not only a tribute to mothers but an important step toward countering forces of deforestation, towards environmental sustainability.
India’s Commitment to Climate Action and Sustainable Growth
It is in this long-term strategic plan that India continues to strongly invest into clean energy transitions, sustainable consumption and environmental conservation efforts. Thus, India integrates sustainability into both daily life and sectors of the economy while positioning the nation at the forefront of worldwide climate action. Nominating the country to the 10-Year Framework of Programmes (10YFP) by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) further expands its growing role in enhancing the global implementation of policies regarding sustainability.
Ms. Nandan’s words were just filled with inter-governmental, inter-constitutions, and inter-private sectoral roles in achieving something related to the fight against global warming. She also added that the choices we make today are going to be directly influencing the tomorrows, hence it is the duty of all countries to move towards sustainable development activities that will benefit the earth as well as the coming generations.
Conclusion
The Summit of the Future offered India an international platform to demonstrate how it has approached issues of sustainability both innovatively and in a comprehensive manner. While initiatives like Mission LiFE and Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam deal with the country’s immediate environmental concerns, it inspires global citizens toward joining hands to share the responsibility towards the planet. Hence, with green jobs, India further develops itself to mold its youth with the skills that a sustainable future demands, and the country is becoming the leader in terms of the conservation of the environment across the world.
The world has now paid attention to the efforts India is making, and the focus on the implementation of sustainable lifestyle, green jobs, and stewardship of the environment will have an enduring impact on the aspect of how the global fight against climate change will take place.
Source:
Press Information Bureau (PIB), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Address by Ms. Leena Nandan at the Summit of the Future Side Event, United Nations Headquarters, 21 September 2024.