AIR Spotlight: Mission Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE)

AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio Newsonair. In this program, many eminent panellists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation. This article is about the discussion on Mission Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE).

Participants: 

1. Mukul Sanwal, Environmentalist and Former Director, UN Climate Change
2. Sanjay Jha, Journalist

Context: Prime Minister launched Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) at the Statue of Unity, Kevadia, Gujarat.

Introduction:

• Weeks ahead of the Conference of Parties 27 (COP 27), the Indian Prime Minister launched Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) at the Statue of Unity, Kevadia, Gujarat in the presence of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. 
• Mission LiFE aims to be a signature initiative at the UN to nudge individual and collective action to protect and preserve the environment. Prime Minister stressed that there is a need to make sustainable choices.
• The initiative was announced by the Prime Minister at COP 26 in Glasgow in 2021. He called upon global leaders to join the movement for safeguarding the environment by adopting an environment-friendly lifestyle. 

For more information on LiFE, read here: LiFE Initiative

Key takeaways from the launch of LiFE Mission:

• The issue of climate change requires urgent attention from all. Previously, climate change was looked at as a policy issue that should be taken care of by the Government or the international community or something that technology should take care of. However, it was observed that emissions are increasing and the date of net zero emission is getting postponed. The key issues highlighted by Prime Minister during the launch were:
  • Climate change is caused by anthropogenic emissions which are caused by individual human beings. So the issue should not be looked at from the prism of action by somebody else but rather should be taken as a community or individual issue.
  • As people shift from Rural to Urban areas, lifestyle becomes an important contributor to climate change. The consumption emissions become more important than the production emissions. For instance, the needs for electricity, transportation, houses, and roads using steel and cement become more important. And these activities become the key drivers of climate change. It is not just the industrialization or manufacturing activities but also the lifestyle of people which becomes very critical in terms of emissions.
  • It was also highlighted that it is a recurring issue as more and more people will shift to urban areas in the coming future. As income and wealth are going to increase, consumption will also increase manifold.
  • Prime Minister also highlighted that every individual should see themselves as a trustee of the environment. The world should not look at this issue in terms of geopolitical issues or issues of international groupings, friends, or foes. But instead, it should be looked at from the perspective of individuals, communities, and societies. The world should come together around this theme as it is a universal concern.
  • Moreover, it was also suggested that it is a part of our civilizational values. Throughout civilizations, emissions were reduced, reused, and recycled. For instance, the rainfall-deficient regions of Bundelkhand and Telangana conserved water. The water conservation cycle was a part of temples, forts, society, and polity. Similarly, forest conservation was adopted with no exploitation of forests, which meant the regeneration of all forest resources.
  • It was clearly highlighted that it is time to look at the global problem in a different light in contrast to the earlier idea. It should be looked at in terms of societal interest.
  • It should also be noted that so far all climate change initiatives/talks were not translating to the common people.
  • It was also suggested that countries should shift from fossil fuels to solar energy, ethanol, and hydrogen.

Significance of the LiFE initiative:

• Various heads of Government across the world including the United Nations Secretary-General appreciated the move. This initiative has given a global vision and as time passes more and more countries will join the movement.
• The initiative will take the issue of climate change from the policy room to the common people’s lives because eventually, it is the individuals who are also contributing to common emissions. If one billion individuals out of the total eight billion people take up environmental behaviour in their lives, then global carbon emissions can reduce by nearly 20 percent.
• It is the first time that such an initiative that focuses on individual actions is launched. 
• It is going to complement various efforts undertaken by the Government of India to transition to green energy like electric vehicles.
• Though the per capita emissions of India are below the global average, we can adopt this measure and grow differently. It should be noted that growth and development are not sidetracked by the initiative. It is rather made more sustainable and inclusive.
• It is expected that with the mission, India can lead the global mass movement in ensuring individual and collective actions to protect and preserve the environment. The initiative is summed up as ‘pro-planet-people’ that link people with the planet.
• This issue can be a discussion point in a global arena and consensus can be built in this regard. This is a global concern and participation at all levels can step up the efforts for climate change and the position of India in the world.
• Mission LiFE also evokes India’s tradition and culture of preserving and living with nature.

Some lifestyle changes that can be adopted:

• People at different levels, especially in terms of affluence were appealed to make small nudges in their lifestyle like keeping the temperature of air conditioners uniform at 22 to 24 degrees Celsius, hot water geysers should be efficiently used, using cars that can give greater mileage in the city/urban areas, etc.
• People of higher income groups are indirectly targeted, as it is this category of the population that uses more than their fair share of carbon emissions. The poor or vulnerable sections are still living sustainably in the majority of regions.
• As a person gets richer, the amount of per capita emission increases, and thus the level of responsibility should also increase.
• Nature should be dealt with in a more positive manner. Forests should be treated as a resource that absorbs carbon dioxide and is a part of life. The focus should be on regeneration rather than exploitation.
• Technology can also be used in this direction. For instance, LED bulbs are considered to be sustainable.
• We can also use traditional approaches and learn from history. For instance, Hawa Mahal in Jaipur was designed in such a way that the natural breeze cools the temperature inside it.
• A new revolution in the field of dryland agriculture is required. For instance, areas like Africa should stress on millet. Millets have always been a part of life that is nutritious, hardy, and more water-efficient being drought-resistant crops.
• Earlier a lifestyle approach in the form of International Yoga Day was also underlined by India. India and the United Nations collaborated on this front and achieved great success.

Read previous AIR Spotlight articles in the link.

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