NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the developing and underdeveloped countries of the world are suffering from the flawed policies of a few developed countries and asserted that India had raised the issue of climate justice in front of every such country.
In a video message at a World Environment Day event here, Modi emphasised that every country in the world should think above its vested interests for the protection of world climate. Pointing out that development model where the thought of developing one’s country and then worrying about the environment has been prevalent for a long time in big and modern countries of the world, the PM noted that even though such countries achieved the goals of development, it was the environment of the whole world that paid the price.
The PM said: “Even today, developing and underdeveloped countries of the world are suffering from the flawed policies of a few developed countries. For decades, there was no country to stop this attitude of some developed countries. I am happy India has raised the question of climate justice in front of every such country.”
“In the thousands of years old culture of India, there is nature as well as progress”, the PM remarked as he credited its inspiration to India’s attention to ecology and economy.
Modi said that as India was investing unprecedentedly in its infrastructure, it is focusing equally on the environment. Drawing comparisons of a boost in the economy and ecology, the PM gave examples of the expansion of 4G and 5G connectivity on one hand and the country’s increased forest cover on the other hand.
“While India built four crore houses for the poor, there has been a record increase in the number of wildlife sanctuaries as well as wildlife in India,” he said.
Modi also talked about the Jal Jeevan Mission and the construction of 50,000 “amrit sarovars” for water security, India becoming the fifth largest economy in the world and also joining the top five countries in renewable energy, increasing agricultural exports and also running a campaign for blending 20 percent ethanol in petrol.
He also said India has become the base of organisations like the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the International Big Cat Alliance.
Speaking about mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) becoming a public movement, the PM highlighted that the mission was spreading a new consciousness about lifestyle changes to combat climate change.
He mentioned there was curiosity among the people when the mission was launched last year in Gujarat but a month ago, a campaign was started regarding Mission LiFE where two crore people became a part of it in less than 30 days.
The PM said this consciousness towards climate change was not limited to India only, the global support for the initiative was increasing all over the world.
He recalled making a request to the world community on Environment Day last year where he had asked to share innovative solutions to bring climate-friendly behavioral change in individuals and communities.
The Prime Minister expressed happiness that thousands of colleagues, including students, researchers, experts from different domains, professionals, NGOs and citizens from around 70 countries, shared their views and solutions that are measurable and scalable.
Underlining the theme of this year's Environment Day — the campaign to get rid of single-use plastic, the PM expressed happiness that India has been working continuously in this direction for the past four-five years and said that India started working on two levels to get rid of single-use plastic in 2018.
“On the one hand, we have banned single-use plastic while on the other hand plastic waste processing has been made mandatory. Due to this, there has been a compulsory recycling of about 30 lakh tonnes of plastic packaging in India, which is 75 per cent of the total annual plastic waste produced in India, and around 10,000 producers, importers and brands have come under its ambit today,” he said.
