On every 22nd April, we celebrate Earth Day to promote environmental protection. It was first marked in the United States in 1970, based on an initiative by Senator Gaylord Nelson.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on 22nd April 2020 and theme will be “Climate Action“. And I think it’s a very effective theme because now it’s high time we take action against climate change. Continuous carbon emissions carbon by developed countries using industries and fossil fuel oils has had a massive impact on our climate and we can see the change in our environment in many ways – like a rise in sea levels, depletion of the Ozone layer, and air pollution.
Many countries have come together to address this issue and try to find out a solution. In India as well, initiatives have been taken. The National Action plan on Climate change (NAPCC) has been formed for this.
I want to highlight of some of the plans:
1) Single-use plastic ban: “I think the time has come for the world to say goodbye to single-use plastic,” said PM Modi at a United Nations meeting in September 2019.
India is making efforts towards removing the use of single-use plastic across the country, especially plastic bags and cutlery. And we can see the result of this. In market places, we are using jute bags instead of plastic and paper bags in shopping malls.
2) National Mission for A Green India: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has made plans to tackle the challenges posed by climate change. It has a mandate of reviving degraded forest land with a focus on increasing forest cover and density and conserving biodiversity. It is also working towards reducing fragmentation of forests, enhancing private-public partnerships for plantations, improving schemes based on joint forestry management etc.
Main Function and Goals:
- Afforestation
- Increase greenhouse gas removals by Indian Forest.
- Enhancing sensitive climate-carbon sinks in sustainable managed forests.
3) National Water Mission: Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation ensures better-integrated water resource management leading to water conservation, less wastage, equitable distribution forming better policies.
Main Function and Goals:
- 20% improvement in water use efficiency
- Promotion of water purification and desalination techniques.
- Implement water projects in climate sensitive regions.
- Management of groundwater resources.
4) National Mission For Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem by Department of Science and Technology has been created to protect the Himalayan Ecosystem and to evolve measures to sustain and safeguard the Himalayan glaciers, mountain ecosystems, biodiversity and wildlife conservation & protection.
Function And Goals :
Establishing of a modern center of Glaciology, standardisation of data collection to ensure interoperability and mapping of natural resources in the area.
5) National Solar Mission, Ministry of Renewable Energy, aims to promote the development and use of solar energy for power generation and other uses, with the ultimate objective of making solar competitive with fossil-based energy options.
Function And Goals:
- By the end of the third phase, 2022, India should have installed 20,000 MW of solar power.
- Making solar water heaters in buildings.
- By the remote village electrification programme, using solar power as an off-grid solution to provide power to the power deprived poor.
It is time for everyone to take the initiative to protect the environment and try to understand climate change and its effect on our health. Initiatives to prevent climate change have been started but, most importantly, these initiatives must be continuous and sustainable and every individual of every country will need to contribute to addressing climate change.