Bhupender Yadav holds meeting with UN country team; Urges them to promote mission LiFE

New Delhi: Union Minister of Environment Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on Thursday held a meeting with United Nations Country Team (UNCT) to discuss the outcome of COP27, and asked them to take forward the message of mission LiFE to the global community.

“One immediate task ahead is to create a LiFE compendium of global best practices on sustainable lifestyles. This will be a comprehensive repository containing best practices from around the world. I understand that UN INDIA is already working with NITI Aayog and MoEFCC in this regard. There could be many other ways to roll out the COP27 decision on transition to sustainable lifestyles” he said.

The Minister said, ” India seeks to involve a billion people in this global mass movement of Mission LiFE and we made a start, with several LiFE-related events at the India Pavilion during COP27. I appreciate the involvement of UNEP and UNDP in these events”

He also urged the UN India to consider a global conference on Mission LiFE during India’s G20 Presidency.

At COP26 in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared his vision of LiFE – Lifestyles for Environment as a key approach to promoting sustainability and combating climate change. Mission LiFE was conceptualized to take forward this message to the global community”.

He added that “Since then, much work has been done to translate this vision into a plan of action”.

The Minister said, “The UNSG has reinforced the importance of Mission LiFE, by participating in its launch event on 20^th October at Kevadia, with PM Narendra Modi. I am glad to share that the cover decision of COP-27, called Sharm el-Sheikh implementation plan, notes the importance of transition to sustainable lifestyles and sustainable patterns of consumption and production for efforts to combat climate change”.

“Many UN agencies are implementing agencies under GEF and some are also accredited entities under GCF. We are now preparing a shelf of projects for the GEF 8 cycle. I expect that outcomes of COP27 on sustainable lifestyles, climate action in agriculture, mitigation work program and just transition would be factored inappropriately, in the upcoming projects” he added.

The meeting was followed by the inauguration of the Climate Change Photo Exhibition with the Swiss Embassy at the UN House in New Delhi.

Shombi Sharp, United Nations Resident Coordinator in India, remarked that India’s bold leadership on the climate agenda, and the innovative solutions increasingly emerging from government and private sector partners in India, are a beacon to the world for a more sustainable, just, and equitable global future.