Hummingbird News Desk
NEW DELHI, 5 APRIL: Union Environment and Forest minister, Bhupender Yadav today launched ‘Prakriti’, a mascot to spread greater awareness among masses about small changes that can be sustainably adopt in our lifestyle for a better environment.
Various green initiatives taken by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to ensure effective Plastic Waste Management (PWM) in the country are also the motto to launch the mascot. The programme was held in presence of Minister of State, Ashwini Kumar Choubey and senior officials of the government.
To tackle the challenge of plastic pollution, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi announced India’s pledge to phase out Single Use Plastics (SUPs) by 2022. Taking the momentum forward and stressing on the need for active public participation, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change also administered ‘Swachh Bharat Harit Bharat Green Pledge’ to the gathering.
Plastic has become one of the most pressing environmental issues that we are facing today. India is generating about 3.5 Million Tonnes of plastic waste annually and the per capita plastic waste generation has almost doubled over the last five years. Plastic pollution adversely affects our ecosystems and is also linked to air pollution.
Mr Yadav urged everyone to join in the efforts to beat plastic pollution and work towards a better future. He appreciated the innovative solutions developed by start-ups entrepreneurs and students in India Plastic Challenge–Hackathon 2021 highlighting the immense talent and potential of India’s youth.
Further, he informed about the recently released IPCC Working Group III contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which focuses on mitigation measures to keep the world aligned to the Plastic Waste Management goals and what we can do to remain on the roadmap set by the Paris Agreement.
In conclusion, the Union Minister said that the India sends a message of hope and optimism that humanity can meet the challenges posed by climate change and will be a part of the solution to climate change. Earlier, in Nairobi, the Union Minister had appreciated the efforts of MoEFCC and CPCB in launching e-governance portals and apps intended to ease issues related to Plastic Waste Management (PWM).
Mr Choubey in his address said that the e-Governance portals of MoEFCC and CPCB such as the EPR portal and the mobile app for SUP grievance redressed launched today would go a long way in ensuring complete phase out of the single use plastic.
He said that the success of any initiative lies in collective action and responsibility. He stated that a Jan Andolan is the need of the hour for phasing out Single Use Plastic with ‘SabkaSaath, SabkaVikas’ as underscored by Prime Minister.
Tags: #Prakriti #Mascot #BetterEnvironment #MoEFCC #CPCB #PlasticWasteManagement
