ADDRESS BY AMBASSADOR
Dear Guests,
Members of the Indian Community,
My Colleagues in the Embassy,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good Afternoon!
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to our Embassy today as we mark the World Environment Day, which you are aware, is celebrated on 5th June every year. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme, this has been held annually since 1973. The event is thus completing 50 years today. It is an occasion which brings together millions of people across the world for awareness and action on environmental issues. A different theme is selected every year about an aspect of environmental problem. Following this tradition, the theme of the World Environment Day this year is “Solution to Plastic Pollution”.
- The World Environment Day is being celebrated in India with focus being given to ‘Mission LiFE’ – an acronym used for “Lifestyle for Environment”. The concept of LiFE was introduced by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi at the United Nations Climate Change Conference at Glasgow on 1stNovember, 2021 to bring individual behaviour at the forefront of the global climate action narrative. He gave a call to re-ignite a global pursuit to adopt sustainable lifestyle and practices. ‘Mission LiFE’ was launched by Prime Ministerin the presence of UN Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres at the Statue of Unity at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat on 20th October, 2022. I had the privilege of being present on this occasion.
- Our Embassy is undertaking a week-long campaign on ‘Mission LiFE’ from today. You all have just commenced this by participating in a Cycle Rally to show your desire to follow a healthy lifestyle and save energy. During the course of this week, we would be conducting some more events to celebrate ‘Mission LiFE’.
- Mission LiFE is based on the premise that Indian culture and living traditions are inherently sustainable. The need to conserve our precious natural resources and to live in harmony with nature is mentioned in our ancient scriptures. The need of the hour is to recollect that ancient wisdom and spread this message. I am sure that the short films about ‘Mission LiFE’ that you have just seen would have given you ideas on how we individuals and communities can practice an environmental conscious lifestyle that would help us in synchronizing ourselves with nature and protecting it. The purpose is to stop mindless and destructive consumption through mindful and deliberate utilization.
- Government of India has identified 75 actionable points spread across seven different themes to promote ‘Mission LiFE’. These are Energy Saved, Water Saved, Single Use Plastic Reduced, E-Waste Reduced, Sustainable Food Systems Adopted, Waste Reduced and Healthy Lifestyles. The films shown today depict each of these themes. ‘Mission LiFE’ seeks to encourage all of us towards simple behavioural changes in our daily lives, convert it into a global mass movement of positive behavioural changes and make it a habit to follow regularly. As we accumulate these minor changes over the years, it is expected to significantly contribute towards environment protection.
- As I mentioned, the theme of the World Environment Day is to tackle pollution caused by the use of plastics which is also imbibed in ‘Mission LiFE’. We could contribute towards reducing the usage of plastics by simply using cloth bags in place of plastic bags or steel water bottles or lunch boxes in place of the plastic ones or by using paper cups instead of plastic cups.
- The need of the hour is to be conscious about our environment and the steps that we need to take to protect it. If you want to change the world, you have to start it yourselves. Responsible individual climate action is the key to safeguarding our collective future. The ideas discussed through this workshop today must, therefore, be followed by us regularly. We shall then be able to bring about significant changes in the environment so that we can leave behind for our next generation an environment that is better than what it is today.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
- A sustainable way of living based on our tradition and values of consumption and moderation are necessary for saving our environment. I am confident that you all will be encouraged to take the simple steps envisioned in ‘Mission LiFE’ and change your lifestyle for our welfare and that of the next generation.
- Thank you once again for joining us today.
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5 June, 2023
