PM addresses World Bank Event on How Behavioural Change Can Tackle Climate Change
“Individuals making the right decisions for our planet are key in the battle
for our planet. This is the core of Mission LiFE”
“Climate change cannot be fought from conference tables alone. It has to be
fought from the dinner tables in every home”
“Mission LiFE is about democratising the battle against climate change”
“People of India have done a lot in the last few year in the matter of mass
movements and behaviour transformation”
“Adequate financing methods need to be worked out for behavioural initiatives
too. A show of support by the World Bank towards behavioural initiatives such
as Mission LiFE will have a multiplier effect”
The Prime
Minister, Narendra Modi today addressed the World Bank Event titled ‘Making it
Personal: How Behavioural Change Can Tackle Climate Change’ via video message.
The Prime Minister acknowledged his personal connection with the theme and
expressed happiness that it is becoming a global movement.
Quoting Chanakya, the Prime Minister underlined the
importance of the small deeds and said “by itself, each good deed for the
planet may seem insignificant. But when billions across the world do it
together, the impact is huge. We believe that individuals making the right
decisions for our planet are key in the battle for our planet. This
is the core of Mission LiFE.”
Talking about the genesis of the LiFE movement the Prime
Minister remembered that in 2015 at the United Nations General Assembly he
spoke about the need for behavioural change and in October 2022,
the UN Secretary General and he launched Mission LiFE. He mentioned that
the preamble to the outcome document of CoP-27 also speaks about sustainable
lifestyle and consumption. If people understand that it is not just the
government but they too can contribute, the Prime Minister pointed out that
“their anxiety will turn into action.” He elaborated “climate change
cannot be fought from conference tables alone. It has to be fought from
the dinner tables in every home. When an idea moves from discussion tables to
dinner tables, it becomes a mass movement. Making every family and
every individual aware that their choices can help the planet can
provide scale and speed. Mission LiFE is about democratising the
battle against climate change. When people become conscious that simple
acts in their daily lives are powerful, there will be a very positive
impact on the environment.”
Modi illustrated his thinking with examples from India and
said “in this matter of mass movements and behaviour transformation, the
people of India have done a lot in the last few years.” He gave
examples of improved sex ratio, massive cleanliness drive, adoption of LED
bulbs which helps in avoiding nearly 39 million tonnes of Carbon
Dioxide emissions every year and saving water by coverage of nearly
seven hundred thousand hectares of farmland by micro-irrigation.
Modi informed that under Mission LIFE, the government’s
efforts are spread across many domains such as making local bodies
environment-friendly, saving water, saving energy, reducing waste and e-waste,
adopting healthy lifestyles, adoption of natural farming and promotion of
millets.
These efforts, he said, will save over twenty two billion
units of energy, save nine trillion litres of water, reduce waste by three
hundred and seventy five million tons, recycle almost one million tons of e-waste
and generate around one hundred and seventy million dollars of
additional cost savings by 2030. “Further, it will help us reduce the
wastage of fifteen billion tons of food. Let me give you a comparison to
know how big this is. The global primary crop production in 2020 according
to FAO was about nine billion tons”, he elaborated.
Prime Minister Modi emphasized that global institutions have
an important role to play in encouraging countries across the
world. Referring to the World Bank Group’s proposed increase in climate
finance from 26% to 35%, as a share of total financing, he said that the
focus of this climate finance is usually on conventional aspects.
“Adequate financing methods need to be worked out for behavioural initiatives
too. A show of support by the World Bank towards behavioural initiatives such
as Mission LiFE will have a multiplier effect”, he concluded.