Because global climate action is woefully inadequate, countries are on their own regarding securing themselves from climate change. Climate change is both a challenge and an opportunity for a country like India. To leapfrog to a low-carbon future, we must transform how we live, commute, do business, produce commodities, and grow food.
Bhupender Yadav is the head of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, which makes policy and implements it. Yadav is the chief guest at Monday’s Express Adda.
Earlier this month, the Union Minister led the Indian negotiating delegation at the annual climate change meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh. From an Indian perspective, this was Yadav’s second climate meeting. In Glasgow last year, Yadav got “phase-out” changed to “phase-down”, while in Sharm el-Sheikh, he argued for phasing out all fossil fuels.
Yadav’s climate action at home will test his effectiveness more than international talks. He believes in Mission Life, or Lifestyle for Environment, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi views as a central part of climate action. This idea is based on the fact that a wasteful lifestyle, as practised in rich and developed countries, doesn’t work for climate change. As a result, we need to adopt more eco-friendly lifestyles.
During the Express Adda, Yadav will talk to Anant Goenka, Executive Director, Indian Express Group, and Amitabh Sinha, Resident Editor of The Indian Express in Pune.
The Indian Express Group organizes the Express Adda, an informal event that highlights those at the centre of change.
A few previous guests at the Adda have included S Jaishankar, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, and Minister of MSMEs. Mansukh Mandaviya, Hardeep Singh Puri, and election strategist Prashant Kishor are Union Ministers of Housing and Urban Affairs and Petroleum and Natural Gas.
