Washington [US], April 15 : Nicholas Stern, a Member of the House of Lords in the UK, lauded the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the World Bank Event 'Making it Personal: How Behavioral Change Can Tackle Climate Change' praising his LiFE global initiative to tackle climate change.
"PM Modi has brought in a whole new story of growth and development. I listened carefully to his speech at COP 26 in Glasgow in November 2021 and what he set out, including LiFE, is what sustainable resilience and inclusive growth looks like," he said.
Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) initiative aims to encourage the adoption of sustainable lifestyles in India and internationally to tackle the challenges of environmental degradation and climate change.
Stern said the clear model by PM Modi gives you cities where you can move and breathe, gives you a fruitful ecosystem and uses energy resources much more efficiently.
"It gives you cities where you can move and breathe. It gives you ecosystems which are robust and fruitful. It uses energy and all other resources much more efficiently. Efficiency is productivity, growth and development. Cities where you move. And of course, much more than output. I mean, if you stop killing people from air pollution, that's very good for output. But actually, it's rather important to stop killing people from air pollution in a very direct way. That's part of what development means. So having that picture of a new way of breaking from the dirty, destructive models of the past and building something much more attractive, I think that is absolutely fundamental to everybody working together," said the UK parliamentarian.
LiFE initiative plans to leverage the strength of social networks to influence social norms surrounding climate. It plans to create and nurture a global network of individuals, namely 'Pro-Planet People' (P3), which will have a shared commitment to adopt and promote environmentally friendly lifestyles.
Stern further said the new model suggested by PM Modi means doing things very differently and is a much better way of growth and development.
"This is a story of doing things very differently and building a much better story of growth and development. I think India is out in front of that. The clarity and commitment of Prime Minister Modi is critical. It's absolutely embodied in the G20 leadership as well. This is the growth and development story of this century," he said.
However, the House of Lords member said the change needs investment, innovation and behavioural change.
"It involves change, involves investment, involves innovation, involves, indeed, behavioural change. But all that comes if you have a very clear understanding of where you're going and why. And a clear understanding there's actually rather an attractive path to follow, much better than the dirty, destructive models of the past," he added.
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