India raising issue of climate justice with developed countries, says PM Modi on World Environment Day

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the poor and developing countries are paying the price for the “wrong policies” of some developed nations and stressed that India has been strongly raising the issue of climate justice with all such advanced and big countries. In his video message at a World Environment Day event, the Prime Minister said that for the protection of world climate, it is very important that every country thinks above vested interests. “The model of development that has been created in the big and modern countries of the world for a long time is very contradictory. In this development model, the only thinking about the environment was that first we should develop our country, then later we will also worry about the environment. With this, such countries achieved the development goals, but the environment of the whole world had to pay the price for their development,” PM Modi said. He said that today India has raised the question of climate justice in front of every such country. “Even today, the developing and poor countries of the world are suffering due to the wrong policies of some developed countries. For decades, there was no one to stop this attitude of some developed countries, there was no country,” he said. The Prime Minister said the theme of this year’s World Environment Day is ‘Freedom from Single-Use Plastic’ and he is happy that India has been working continuously for the last 4-5 years on what the world is doing today. “In 2018, India started working at two levels to get rid of single-use plastic. On the one hand, we banned single-use plastic and on the other, plastic waste processing was made mandatory. Due to this, about 30 lakh tonnes of plastic packaging has been recycled in India. This is 75 percent of the total annual plastic waste generated in India,” the Prime Minister said. He said in the past nine years, India has given unprecedented focus on ‘green and clean energy’. “Be it solar power, LED bulbs should reach more and more homes, which has saved the money of the people of the country, our poor and middle class and has also protected the environment. The electricity bill has come down continuously,” the PM said. Talking about India’s leadership during the pandemic, he said India launched Mission Green Hydrogen and took major steps towards natural farming. PM Modi said India is focussing on environment in a big way just like any other area for its growth. If India has expanded its 4G and 5G telecom networks, it has also enhanced its forest cover on an equal footing, he added. “On the one hand, India built 4 crore houses for the poor, on the other hand, the number of wildlife and wildlife sanctuaries in India also increased by record. Today, on one hand, India is running the Jal Jeevan Mission, on the other hand, we have prepared more than 50,000 Amrut Sarovars for water security. “Today, on one hand, India has become the fifth largest economy in the world, while it has also joined the top-5 countries in renewable energy. Today, on one hand, India is increasing agricultural exports, on the other hand, it is also campaigning for 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol. Today, on one hand, India has become the basis of organisations like Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), on the other hand, India has also announced the International Big Cat Alliance. This is a big step towards the conservation of Big Cats,” he said. Continuing the campaign of ‘Green Future, Green Economy’, he said two more schemes have been launched today. “In the last nine years, the number of wetlands in India and Ramsar sites has increased almost three times compared to before. Today the Amrut Dharohar Yojana has been started. Through this scheme, conservation of these Ramsar sites will be ensured with public participation. In the future, these Ramsar sites will become the center of eco-tourism and will become a medium of green jobs for thousands of people,” informed the Prime Minister. He said the second plan is related to the country’s long coastline and the population living there. “Through the ‘Mishti Yojana’, the mangrove ecosystem of the country will also be revived and will also be safe. With this, mangrove cover will be restored in nine states of the country. This will help reduce the crisis of life and livelihood in coastal areas from sea level rise and disasters like cyclones,” he added. Expressing his happiness over Mission LiFE becoming a mass movement all over the world, he said, “When I launched Mission Life in Kevadia-Ekta Nagar in Gujarat last year, there was a curiosity among people. Today, this mission is infusing a new consciousness about lifestyle changes to deal with climate change.” He said a month ago, a campaign was also launched regarding Mission LiFE. “I am told that in less than 30 days, about 2 crore people have joined it. With this spirit, giving life to my city, somewhere there were rallies, somewhere quiz competitions were held. Lakhs of school children, their teachers, joined this campaign through eco-clubs. Millions of friends have adopted the mantra of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle in their daily lives. Change in nature is change in the world, this is the basic principle of mission life. Mission Life is equally important for the bright future of our future generations, the entire humanity,” said the PM. He said this consciousness is not limited to the country, but there is growing support for this initiative of India all over the world. “Last year, on Environment Day, I made another appeal to the world community. The urge was to share innovative solutions to bring about climate-friendly behavioural change among individuals and communities. Solutions that are meassurable are scalable. It is a matter of great happiness that thousands of colleagues from about 70 countries around the world shared their views. These include students, researchers, experts from different domains, professionals, NGOs and ordinary citizens. The ideas of some of these distinguished colleagues have also been rewarded a while ago. I congratulate all the award winners,” PM Modi said. He said the collection of Thought Leadership for LiFE has also been released today. “I am confident that such efforts will further strengthen our resolve for green growth,”  he added. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and held annually on 5 June since 1973, World Environment Day is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach. 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