Mission Life - PM Modi Calls For People’s Active Participation In Fight Against Climate Change

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said an idea becomes a broad movement when it travels from 'discussion tables to dinner tables' as he appealed for people's engagement and common efforts in the battle against climate change.

He also told a gathering of world leaders on Friday that when people realize how powerful little acts in their daily lives can be, the environment will benefit greatly.

"People all over the world are hearing a lot about climate change." Many of them are anxious because they don't know what to do about it. They are continually led to believe that only governments or global organisations can play a role. If individuals realize they can help, their fear will transform into action," Modi stated at the World Bank-organized "Making it Personal: How Behavioural Change Can Address Climate Change" conference.

Modi cited "Mission Life," an initiative he and the UN secretary-general inaugurated last October, saying it is about democratizing the fight against climate change.

"Climate change cannot be combated solely at conference tables." "It has to be fought from every dinner table," he said at a symposium organized on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's annual spring meetings.

"When an idea moves from discussion tables to dinner tables, it becomes a mass movement," he added, including every family and individual, and their decisions can benefit the world while also providing size and speed.

Prime Minister Modi stated that when people realize how powerful simple deeds in their daily lives can be, the environment will benefit greatly. He commended the Indian people for their efforts in this regard.

"In recent years, people-powered efforts have improved the gender ratio in many parts of India." It was the people who spearheaded a large cleanliness campaign, whether it was for rivers, beaches, or highways. They keep public places clean, and it was the people who made the conversion to LED bulbs a success. "In India, nearly 370 million LED bulbs have been sold," he stated.

According to the prime minister, this helps to avoid roughly 39 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

Micro-irrigation is used by farmers in India to cover over 7,00,000 hectares of agriculture. He noted that by following the slogan of "per drop more crop," he had saved a significant amount of water.

"Under Mission Life, our efforts are spread across many domains, such as making local bodies environmentally friendly, saving water, saving energy, reducing waste and e-wastes, adopting healthy lifestyles, natural farming, and millet promotion," Modi stated.

These initiatives will save over 22 billion units of energy, nine trillion litres of water, 375 million tonnes of garbage, nearly one million tonnes of e-waste, and produce an extra $170 million in cost savings by 2030, he said.

"Furthermore, it will help us reduce wastage of 15 billion tons of food," Modi added, saying that the Food and Agriculture Organization estimates world primary crop production in 2020 to be around nine billion tons.

He stated that global institutions play a vital role in encouraging governments around the world.

The World Bank Group aims to expand climate money as a percentage of total financing from 26% to 35%. He observed that the focus of climate finance is typically on traditional aspects.

The prime minister stated that sufficient finance methods for behavioural initiatives must be developed and that the World Bank's assistance for behavioural projects such as Mission Life will have a multiplier effect. 

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