Latest news with #MissionLife
India Today
4 days ago
- General
- India Today
Radio professionals come together to discuss International Day of Play and World Environment Day
India's top radio voices, including programming heads, senior RJs, and producers from All India Radio, private FM channels, came together to champion child rights at a day-long workshop organised by UNICEF India, under its Radio4Child platform capacity building workshop brought together over 30 radio and media professionals from All India Radio, private FM, and community radio workshop centred on two themes: 'Ending Plastic Pollution' aligned with World Environment Day on 5 June. With over 430 million tonnes of plastic produced globally each year, much of it is used once and Micro plastics are now seen in the in the food we eat, the water we drink, and even in human blood and breast milk. Ending plastic pollution is the theme of this year's World Environment behaviours in the use of plastics by the public has never been greater. Actions outlined under Mission Life — such as refusing single-use plastic, segregating waste at source, and adopting sustainable alternatives, offer a clear path for individuals and communities to reduce plastic pollution in everyday life. Radio professionals come together to discuss International Day of Play and World Environment Day The 2nd theme 'Choose Play Everyday' is aligned with International Day of Play on 11 June. UNICEF advocates for unstructured playtime for children, critical for their mental, physical, emotional growth and wellbeing that build their brains and their bodies. UNICEF advocates that children must be given time at home, in school in communities every day to play every his welcome address, Arjan de Wagt, Deputy Representative, Programmes, UNICEF India, said, 'Radio professionals are more than broadcasters, they are catalysts for change. Radio informs, listens, responds, and helps shape priorities that matter most to children and their to inform on climate-conscious living to end single-use plastic pollution or advocating for every child's right to play, radio amplifies the voices that too often go unheard. Play is not a luxury, it is essential for children's learning, wellbeing, and we support children to grow up in safe, nurturing environments—both at home and on the planet they inherit.'The workshop included hands-on group work where participants created sample content—talk show formats, PSAs, and radio spots—across both workshop also saw the participation of 15 students from the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Jamia Millia Islamia, who brought fresh ideas and energy to the content co-creation created and broadcast as a result of this workshop will be eligible for the upcoming Radio4Child Awards, which recognise excellence in child-centered radio storytelling.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
No more plastics please
This World Environment Day, the Government of India has called for One nation, One Mission: End Plastic Pollution and launched a nation-wide campaign to promote eco-friendly alternatives to single use plastic. While India is in the race to the podium as the fastest growing economy, we must carefully and consciously balance this phenomenal growth with our consumption of plastics to set an unprecedented example to the world. Plastic production accounts for 5% of all greenhouse gas emissions – more than the airlines or shipping industry. This estimate does not consider how microplastics disrupt the natural cycles that store carbon. It is not an uncommon sight to see the burning of plastics in our country. Lack of climate literacy and the sheer scale of plastic use expected to rise to 70.5 million tonnes (MT) by 2035 from the current production of 24.1 MT, can create India has, through its Mission Life, identified ways to achieving sustainable living through the very ethos of Indian culture. Now is the time to amplify this through the Make in India, formation of global consortiums such as the Solar Alliance and the advocacy through platforms like G20. This should be done through the various Indian embassies overseas, trade associations, trade fairs and partnerships forged through FDIs and other business alliances. Though the aspect of measuring the traces of plastics may be present through various sustainability reporting mechanisms, ESG rankings and reporting, the country's companies and leadership must show resolve in thinking about long-term impacts versus short-term profits. Though many companies claim that they are trying to reduce plastics in their manufacturing processes and bringing in a rate of circularity, it is often a mismatch from factory floor to shop floor. Take for instance the example of a Toyoto Innova vehicle, which has been running on the road for 20 years. If Toyota aspires to bring in the idea of circular economy and identifies the process of investing in a scrap yard to recycle the old cars that come back to its yard--this is a far-fetched idea, since rarely do these models come back to their own scrap yard. Hence it becomes a challenge for companies to account for and calculate the rate of recycling while projecting their commitment to circularity. This is largely emphasised for products and services where plastics are used. Many studies have shown that we end up burning plastics contributing to air pollution, water pollution rather than meticulously recycling plastics at a granular level. The less said about microplastics the better, which is said to have entered the blood stream of foetuses while their mothers may have unknowingly ingested food containing microplastics, used a cosmetic such as soap, shampoo, moisturiser, nail polish or simply added pharmaceutical products as part of their maternity kit into their environment, while exposing the mother and baby to harmful effects of this microplastics. Finally, the clarion call must come through the youth of the country who constitute most of our population. They comprise of consumers, whether they are young children who influence their parents' consumption patterns or Gen Z who have higher purchasing power, choices and demands as consumers. Sustainability in fashion, e-commerce, food orders, travel, purchase of gadgets and automobiles - there are plethora of claims and choices. Yet, literacy in sustainability is key. The reading between the lines, understanding of the entire value chain, implications on health and long-term impacts on environment have to be assessed and analyzed carefully. It is here that greening the curriculum and courses at the school and college level matter. The UNESCO greening the curriculum states the following: This article is authored by Deepti Ganapathy, teacher, courses on climate action, IIMB, Bangalore.
United News of India
6 days ago
- General
- United News of India
Pradhan urges citizens to plant a tree in the name of their Mothers
Bhubaneswar, June 4 (UNI) Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has appealed to the countrymen, especially students, to plant trees. In a video message on Wednesday for the launch of the 'Ek Peed Maa Ke Naam 2.0' campaign, Pradhan said, 'This year, the 'One Tree in the Name of Mother 2.0' initiative is being launched to expand this large-scale tree plantation drive.' In this second phase of the campaign, 10 crore trees will be planted between World Environment Day on June 5 and September 30, Pradhan announced. The Union Minister emphasized that the main objective of this campaign is to protect the environment through tree plantation and to create awareness among the general public about the importance of planting trees. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the people, 'One Tree in the Name of Maa' has become a significant campaign. Pradhan noted that over 5.5 crore trees have already been planted across India under this initiative. 'This is not just about planting trees; it is a symbol of our love and connection with Mother Earth,' he said. Highlighting the contributions from various states, Pradhan mentioned the seed balls prepared by children and women in Chhattisgarh, the tree plantation initiatives in Tripura, and the planting of 1.5 crore saplings in Rajasthan, which have given this campaign a new identity. He acknowledged the collective efforts of people from across the country, including Odisha, and described how this national campaign has transformed into a mass movement. Pradhan further emphasized that this campaign is not merely about numbers but is a manifestation of our love and responsibility towards nature. Citing the United Nations Environment Programme's guidance for sustainable development, Pradhan said that the solution to the climate crisis lies not only in new methods but also in adopting more sustainable lifestyles. To advance this idea, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 'Mission Life', Pradhan noted. He expressed joy and pride in seeing students, teachers, and parents emerging as responsible and sensitive champions of this cause. As evidence of this, he shared that more than 29 lakh students have created QR codes for over 5 lakh trees, making India's vast environmental knowledge digital and accessible. Pradhan urged everyone to plant a tree in the name of their mother and to protect and nurture it so that it grows large and shares its story with others. 'Every sapling we plant carries the message that we care for nature and are committed to its protection,' he added.
Nahar Net
05-02-2025
- Business
- Nahar Net
Making climate-friendly lifestyle choices isn't always easy. India learned the hard way
For nearly four years, India's government pushed an initiative to get people to think about how to make lifestyle choices that pollute less, like cycling instead of driving or using less plastic. But in the country's yearly budget announcement last weekend, the once-flagship program failed to get a mention — or any promise of future funding. The Lifestyle for Environment Initiative — or Mission Life as it's more commonly known — was once championed by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior ministers as a major step toward the country's climate goals. The idea was to get the whole population working to slash emissions by cutting electricity use or skipping unnecessary private car journeys. But it's fallen out of favor: Mission Life's dedicated government website used to provide monthly updates on the initiative's progress, but there hasn't been an update since March 2024. It shows how difficult making large-scale changes in people's everyday lives really is, especially without financial incentives, experts say. But lessons learned can help shape policy in the future that could be more successful at getting a significant percentage of the population to ditch their more polluting habits. Why is it so hard to make climate-friendly choices? Latha Girish, who owns a company in Bengaluru that makes plastic packaging for industrial-scale food storage and refrigeration, says she's occupied with making sure her business survives, not its emissions. Many small business owners "don't have the luxury of thinking about the environment," she said. "Ask anybody in our sector, I'm sure they won't know about Mission Life or any other such initiative." Anything that puts her business' prices up — like using more sustainable raw materials — means she loses out on customers who just want the lowest price. "They are looking only at how competitive you are and don't look at what you are doing or not doing for the environment or sustainability," she said. But Sunil Mysore, the CEO of sustainability solutions company Hinren Engineering, said climate-friendly changes can be made as long as there is a motivation to live a "better life." "My home is completely off the grid now," said Mysore. He said they reuse all the waste they produce to make energy, and their rooftop garden provides them with vegetables. They also harvest rainwater at home, meaning the household is better shielded from a growing number of water crises in Bengaluru, where he lives. Prasad Gawade, who runs an ecotourism company where travelers stay with Indigenous communities in western India, agrees. He said his efforts to run an environmentally-friendly business are in spite of, not because of, government initiatives because smaller businesses don't get the kind of incentives bigger ones do. Part of the problem is that major projects that could change people's habits — like changing a city's infrastructure to make it more convenient to get around with electric trams or trains over private cars — weren't part of Mission Life, said Sanjib Pohit, a senior fellow at the New Delhi-based National Council for Applied Economic Research. "Drastic infrastructure changes are needed for (Mission Life) to be successful," he said. India's environment ministry did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment about the Mission Life program. Could energy efficiency initiatives be a solution? One way of cutting emissions without changing people's lifestyles and habits is by simply making their current habits more efficient. Everything that uses electricity or some form of energy — from refrigerators to lightbulbs — has the potential to be more efficient at how it uses that energy. Experts say efficient energy systems can be "low-hanging fruit" that can cut carbon pollution with little additional costs. But the federal budget allotted no additional funds for energy conservation schemes or the regulatory bodies tasked with making India's energy systems more efficient. Girish, who owns the plastic packaging business, said investing in making her company more efficient would mean high upfront costs, which is unaffordable for her without government support. According to the International Energy Agency, global energy efficiency improved only by a little over 1% in 2023. That same year, countries agreed to double energy efficiency by the end of the decade. Efficient systems can get more out of existing infrastructure, said Jon Creyts, the CEO of the RMI climate thinktank. "It's about being thrifty. It's about saving. It's about, in the end, producing less of something," he said. Does changing personal habits really make a difference? While each person's emissions or their small business' don't contribute much — the world makes about 41 billion tons of carbon pollution a year — addressing both individual emissions and calling on major polluters to address theirs is important, scientists say. "Changing behavior is tricky and difficult," said Ramya Natarajan from the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy in Bengaluru. But Natarajan acknowledged that simply getting people to be conscious about their decisions — as Mission Life has set out to do — can make an impact. "It is a forward-looking program and more of an advisory that everyone can adopt and follow, I think it's been relatively successful in triggering thinking about this," she said. For Mysore, the sustainable solutions CEO in Bengaluru, finding more climate-friendly ways to live is about more than just slashing emissions. "For me, it's the pure joy of being sustainable," he said. "I know that just me doing these things will not reduce carbon emissions in any great measure, but you never know when a spark can change into a fire."
Al Arabiya
05-02-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Making climate-friendly lifestyle choices isn't always easy. India learned the hard way
For nearly four years, India's government pushed an initiative to get people to think about how to make lifestyle choices that pollute less, like cycling instead of driving or using less plastic. But in the country's yearly budget announcement last weekend, the once-flagship program failed to get a mention–or any promise of future funding. The Lifestyle for Environment Initiative–or Mission Life as it's more commonly known–was once championed by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior ministers as a major step toward the country's climate goals. The idea was to get the whole population working to slash emissions by cutting electricity use or skipping unnecessary private car journeys. But it's fallen out of favor: Mission Life's dedicated government website used to provide monthly updates on the initiative's progress, but there hasn't been an update since March 2024. It shows how difficult making large-scale changes in people's everyday lives really is, especially without financial incentives, experts say. But lessons learned can help shape policy in the future that could be more successful at getting a significant percentage of the population to ditch their more polluting habits. Why is it so hard to make climate-friendly choices? Latha Girish, who owns a company in Bengaluru that makes plastic packaging for industrial-scale food storage and refrigeration, says she's occupied with making sure her business survives, not its emissions. 'Many small business owners don't have the luxury of thinking about the environment,' she said. 'Ask anybody in our sector; I'm sure they won't know about Mission Life or any other such initiative.' Anything that puts her business prices up–like using more sustainable raw materials–means she loses out on customers who just want the lowest price. 'They are looking only at how competitive you are and don't look at what you are doing or not doing for the environment or sustainability,' she said. But Sunil Mysore, the CEO of sustainability solutions company Hinren Engineering, said climate-friendly changes can be made as long as there is a motivation to live a better life. 'My home is completely off the grid now,' said Mysore. He said they reuse all the waste they produce to make energy, and their rooftop garden provides them with vegetables. They also harvest rainwater at home, meaning the household is better shielded from a growing number of water crises in Bengaluru, where he lives. Prasad Gawade, who runs an ecotourism company where travelers stay with Indigenous communities in western India, agrees. He said his efforts to run an environmentally friendly business are in spite of, not because of, government initiatives because smaller businesses don't get the kind of incentives bigger ones do. Part of the problem is that major projects that could change people's habits–like changing a city's infrastructure to make it more convenient to get around with electric trams or trains over private cars–weren't part of Mission Life, said Sanjib Pohit, a senior fellow at the New Delhi–based National Council for Applied Economic Research. 'Drastic infrastructure changes are needed for (Mission Life) to be successful,' he said. India's environment ministry did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment about the Mission Life program. Could energy efficiency initiatives be a solution? One way of cutting emissions without changing people's lifestyles and habits is by simply making their current habits more efficient. Everything that uses electricity or some form of energy–from refrigerators to lightbulbs–has the potential to be more efficient at how it uses that energy. Experts say efficient energy systems can be 'low-hanging fruit' that can cut carbon pollution with little additional costs. But the federal budget allotted no additional funds for energy conservation schemes or the regulatory bodies tasked with making India's energy systems more efficient. Girish, who owns the plastic packaging business, said investing in making her company more efficient would mean high upfront costs, which is unaffordable for her without government support. According to the International Energy Agency, global energy efficiency improved only by a little over one percent in 2023. That same year, countries agreed to double energy efficiency by the end of the decade. 'Efficient systems can get more out of existing infrastructure,' said Jon Creyts, the CEO of the RMI climate think tank. 'It's about being thrifty. It's about saving. It's about, in the end, producing less of something,' he said. Does changing personal habits really make a difference? While each person's emissions or their small business don't contribute much–the world makes about 41 billion tons of carbon pollution a year–addressing both individual emissions and calling on major polluters to address theirs is important, scientists say. 'Changing behavior is tricky and difficult,' said Ramya Natarajan from the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy in Bengaluru. But Natarajan acknowledged that simply getting people to be conscious about their decisions–as Mission Life has set out to do–can make an impact. 'It is a forward-looking program and more of an advisory that everyone can adopt and follow. I think it's been relatively successful in triggering thinking about this,' she said. For Mysore, the sustainable solutions CEO in Bengaluru, finding more climate-friendly ways to live is about more than just slashing emissions. 'For me, it's the pure joy of being sustainable,' he said. 'I know that just me doing these things will not reduce carbon emissions in any great measure, but you never know when a spark can change into a fire.'
