'Meri LiFE' app launched to catalyze youth action for climate change
May 15, 2023
New Delhi [India], May 15 : Delhi: To catalyze youth action for climate change as a build-up to June 5 -- World Environment Day, Union Minister for Environment Bhupender Yadav launched a mobile application called "Meri LiFE".
The app is inspired by the concept of LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), envisioned by the Prime Minister at COP 26, which emphasizes mindful and deliberate utilization instead of mindless and wasteful consumption.
Speaking on the occasion, Bhupendra Yadav said that this app will showcase the power of citizens, especially young people in saving the environment.
He also mentioned that through this app, simple actions in daily lives can have a larger climate impact. The Minister expressed his hope that the portal and app together drive a national movement for LiFE.
Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) was launched by the Prime Minister on 20th October 2022 at Kevadia, Gujarat and focuses on bringing about behaviour changes in individuals through simple easy-to-do actions. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the nodal ministry for national-level coordination and implementation of Mission LiFE.
As part of their implementation efforts, the Ministry has mobilized Central Ministries, State Governments, Institutions, and private organizations to align their activities with LiFE and spread awareness about the sustainable actions that individuals can undertake. In order to further catalyze pan-India advocacy and awareness about LiFE, a month-long mass mobilisation drive is currently underway and will culminate on 5 June 2023 in a mega celebration of World Environment Day.
In 10 days, more than 1,00,000 LiFE-related events have taken place across India mobilizing over 1.7 million individuals to take pro-planet actions. These include cleanliness drives, bicycle rallies, plantation drives, LiFE marathons, plastic collection drives, composting workshops, and taking a LiFE pledge. Many schools and colleges are also undertaking cultural competitions such as street plays, essays, paintings, and youth parliaments.
At the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed to an ambitious five-part "Panchamrit" pledge, including reaching 500 GW of non-fossil electricity capacity to generate half of all energy requirements from renewables, to reduce emissions by one billion tons by 2030.
India also aims to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent. India has committed to net-zero emissions by 2070.
India banned several single-use plastics starting in July 2022. Single-use plastics are typically items that are discarded after being used only once and do not go through the recycling process.
