AHMEDABAD: Climate change cannot be tackled without sustainable lifestyles. This idea was India's contribution at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) on climate change held at Paris recently .
A sentence in the Paris Agreement, signed by participants in COP21 on United Nations Framework Convention on Cli mate Change (UNFCCC) reads "The parties of the agreement also recognizing that sustainab le lifestyles and sustainable pat terns of consumption and pro duction, with developed count ry and parties taking the lead play an important role in add ressing climate change." This sentence in the Paris Agree ment recognizing `sustainable lifestyle' as one of the prerequi sites for dealing with climate change, was India's contribution to the final agreement.
Six members from city-based Centre for Environment Education (CEE), including its director Kartikeya Sarabhai were part of the Indian contingent at COP21held in Paris. They represented India's stand on the subject on various forums. The primary contribution of CEE was preparing a book titled, `Pa rampara,' highlighting good cultural practices from India However, members of the team spoke on climate change education, their experience on the UNESCO forum and distributing booklet on low carbon lifestyle. "One more mportant role CEE members played was to keep an eye on the draft coming to negotiators every day for comments. It was on India's insistence that lifestyle got added in the draft," said Sarabhai.
Talking about the apprehension that the agreement -including reducing global emissions and limiting the rise in global temperature to below 2 degrees -will remain on paper, Sarabhai said that in the absence of international authority for implementation, it is only moral pressure on nations that can make them act on climate change.
Sarabhai said that time and again they have stressed the need for education as an effective tool for mitigation, and the need to reach out to children and youth.
"India is currently at a very interesting juncture," Sarabhai said. "We have a chance to chart our future development course.The Science Express this time is Climate Action Special. It is reaching out to thousands of schools across the country . CEE is also hosting an international conference in January on the theme of `Education as a driver for Sustainable Development Goals' to take forward the core idea."
