“India Moving Ahead With Clear Roadmap On Environment, Climate Change,” Says PM Modi On World Environment Day

New Delhi: India is moving ahead with a clear roadmap for environment protection and climate change, while maintaining a balance between present requirements and future vision, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday (June 5).

Speaking on the occasion of the World Environment Day, he said if India has expanded its 4G and 5G telecom networks, it has also enhanced its forest cover on an equal footing.

The theme of this year’s World Environment Day is to get rid of single-use plastic, an issue about which the world is talking today but India has been working on it consistently for the last four-five years. In 2018 itself, India started working at two levels for getting rid of single-use plastic. On one hand, we banned single-use plastic and on the other hand we made the plastic waste processing mandatory, he said.

He said India is focussing on environment in a big way just like any other area for its growth.

On the one hand, we have provided help to the poor and on the other hand we have also taken major steps keeping in mind the fuel requirements of the future, he said.

In the past nine years, India has focussed a lot on ‘green and clean energy’, PM Modi said.

He further said that the poor and developing countries are paying the price for the “wrong policies” of some developed nations and stressed that India has been strongly raising the issue of climate justice with all such advanced and big countries. In his video message at a World Environment Day event here, PM Modi said that for the protection of the world climate it is important that all countries think, rising above selfish 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. 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 poor countries of the world are paying the price for the wrong policies of some developed countries.

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For decades no one was there to object to this attitude of the developed countries, PM Modi said.

I am happy that India has raised the question of climate justice with all these countries.

PM Modi said India is focusing on environment in a big way just like any other area for its growth. If India has expanded its 4G and 5G telecom networks, it has also enhanced its forest cover on an equal footing, he said.

The theme of this year’s World Environment Day is to get rid of single-use plastic, an issue about which the world is talking today but India has been working on it consistently for the last four-five years.
“In 2018 itself, India started working at two levels for getting rid of single-use plastic. On one hand, we banned single-use plastic and on the other hand we made the plastic waste processing mandatory.

In the past nine years, India has focussed a lot on ‘green and clean energy’, PM Modi said. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and held annually on June 5 since 1973, World Environment Day is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach.

Also Read: India Has Set A Target Of Achieving Net Zero By 2070: Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.