PM: India raising issue of climate justice with developed countries
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said developing and underdeveloped countries are paying the price for the “wrong policies” of some developed nations, and asserted that India has raised the issue of climate justice with every such advanced country.
In his video message at a World Environment Day event here, Modi said for the protection of the world climate, it is important that all countries think, rising above vested interests. “For a long time, the model of development in big and advanced countries was contradictory. In this developmental model, the thinking was that we first develop our country then we can think about the environment,” the prime minister said. “With this, they achieved the goals of development, but the world’s environment had to pay the price for their development. Today also, the developing and underdeveloped countries of the world are paying the price for the wrong policies of some developed countries,” he said.
For decades, no one was there to object to this attitude of some developed countries, Modi said. “I am happy that India has raised the question of climate justice with all these countries,” he said. In the thousands of years old Indian cul
ture, there is nature as well as progress, Modi said as he credited this to the country’s attention to ecology and economy. The prime minister said as India is investing unprecedentedly in its infrastructure, it is focussing equally on the environment.
Talking about boosting economy and safeguarding ecology, he gave the examples of expansion of 4G and 5G connectivity on one hand and the increase in the country’s forest cover on the other. He said while India built 4 crore houses for the poor, there has been a
record increase in the number of wildlife sanctuaries as well as wildlife in India.
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, joining the top five countries in terms of renewable energy, increasing agricultural exports, and also running a campaign for blending 20 per cent ethanol in petrol. He also stated that India has become the base of organisations like Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure
- CDRI, and the International Big Cat Alliance.
Speaking about mission LiFE — Lifestyle for Environment — becoming a public movement, he highlighted the mission is spreading a new consciousness about lifestyle changes to combat climate change. He said there was curiosity among the people when the mission was launched last year in Kevadia, Gujarat, but a month ago, a campaign was started regarding Mission LiFE where 2 crore people became a part of it in less than 30 days.
He also talked about the organisation of rallies and quiz competitions in the spirit of ‘Giving Life to My City’.
“Lakhs of colleagues have adopted the mantra of reduce, reuse, recycle in their everyday life,” the prime minister stated as he underlined that the basic principle of Mission LiFE is changing one’s nature to change the world.