Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch ‘Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) Movement’ through video conferencing today.
According to the PMO, the launch will kick off the “LiFE Global Call for Papers,” which will solicit ideas and suggestions from academics, universities, and research institutions around the world in order to influence and persuade individuals, communities, and organizations to adopt an environmentally conscious lifestyle. During the event, the Prime Minister will offer a keynote address.
Bill Gates, Co-Chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Lord Nicholas Stern, Climate Economist; Professor Cass Sunstein, author of Nudge Theory; Aniruddha Dasgupta, CEO and President of the World Resources Institute; Inger Andersen, UNEP Global Head; Achim Steiner, UNDP Global Head; and David Malpass, President of the World Bank, are among those expected to attend.
Prime Minister proposed LiFE during the United Nations’ 26th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow last year.
The concept encourages an environmentally responsible lifestyle that emphasizes “mindful and intentional use” rather than “mindless and destructive consumption.”
PM Modi recently presented the “P3 (Pro-Planet People) campaign” at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Davos Agenda 2022, which highlights India’s climate change commitments.
He emphasized the challenges that our way of life poses to the environment.
“The climate crisis has been exacerbated by ‘throwaway’ culture and materialism. It is critical to transition from today’s “take-make-use-dispose” economy to a circular economy as soon as possible “, he had emphasized.
PM Modi said at COP 26 in Glasgow that India has set a target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), which must be met by 2030, were also updated. Its new pledge included growing installed renewable capacity to 500 GW and sourcing 50% of the country’s energy from non-fossil fuel sources.
India made similar bold commitments at COP 21 in Paris, aiming to lower its economy-wide carbon intensity by 33-35 percent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy stated in August that the country had reached a renewable energy capacity of 100 GW.
While this is a significant achievement, India is only on track to meet around two-thirds of its targeted renewable energy target of 175 GW by 2022.
