10% ethanol blending ahead of schedule: PM
The target to achieve 10% ethanol blending in petrol was five months ahead of schedule, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a global initiative named “Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) Movement”, even as he said that India achieved the target of 10% ethanol blending in petrol five months ahead of schedule.
The Prime Minister said the vision of the initiative is that people have a lifestyle in tune with our planet. Those who live such a lifestyle are called “pro-planet people”. “Mission LiFE borrows from the past, operates in the present and focuses on the future,” Modi said in a video address during the launch on the World Environment Day.
The PM called on all countries to join the movement to address the climate crisis by following sustainable lifestyles focused on “reduce, reuse and recycle”. Giving the slogan of “one Earth, many efforts”, he said India was ready to lend its support to actions to make environment better and improve global wellness.
“Our commitment to reach 40% of installed electric capacity from non-fossil fuel-based sources has been achieved, nine years ahead of schedule. We have achieved 10% ethanol blending in petrol, five months ahead of the November 2022 target. This is a major accomplishment given that blending was hardly 1.5% in 2013-14 and 5% in 2019-20,” he said.
At COP21 in 2015, as part of its nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement, India committed to achieving 40% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil energy sources by 2030.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said the launch will initiate “LiFE global call for papers”, inviting ideas and suggestions from academics, universities and research institutions to influence and persuade individuals, communities and organisations across the world to adopt an environment-conscious lifestyle.
PM Modi’s call for LiFE also put the spotlight on consumption-driven, wasteful lifestyles in several developed countries which contributed to high per capita CO2 emissions historically.
According to the Niti Ayog, which is overseeing the programme along with the ministry of environment and forests, LiFE plans to leverage the strength of social networks to influence social norms surrounding the climate crisis. “The Mission plans to create and nurture a global network of individuals, namely ‘Pro-Planet People’ (P3), who will have a shared commitment to adopt and promote environmentally friendly lifestyles. Through the P3 community, the Mission seeks to create an ecosystem that will reinforce and enable environmentally friendly behaviours to be self-sustainable,” the Niti Ayog said.
“The vision of LiFE is to live a lifestyle that is in tune with our planet and does not harm it. And those who live such a lifestyle are called ‘Pro-Planet People’. Mission LiFE borrows from the past, operates in the present and focuses on the future... The circular economy has been an integral part of our culture and lifestyle,” PM Modi said.
“Mahatma Gandhi talked about a zero-carbon lifestyle. In our daily life choices, let us pick the most sustainable options. Let us follow the principle of reuse, reduce and recycle. Our planet is one but our efforts have to be many. India stands ready to support any effort for a better environment and to further global wellness. Our track record speaks for itself,” he added.
Several global experts and business leaders joined PM Modi during the launch of LiFE.
“This is a critical time for the fight against climate change. People all over the world are already being affected by a warmer climate... I am inspired by India’s leadership and efforts to curb the rise in emissions and I was excited to learn about the LiFE movement and its potential to draw in the full power of collective action,” said Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder and co-chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is partnering with Niti Ayog on the movement.
Inger Anderson, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said during the launch: “We are in the midst of a triple planetary crisis – the crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and a crisis of pollution and waste. This is a crisis created by decades of relentless and unsustainable consumption and production. We have only one Earth and how we live and consume matters greatly. I welcome the launch of the LiFE movement by the Prime Minister of India on World Environment Day.”
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister also said that to save the soil, India has focused on five main things. “First – how to make the soil chemical free. Second – how to save the organisms that live in the soil, which are called Soil Organic Matter in technical language. Third – how to maintain soil moisture, how to increase the availability of water till it. Fourth – how to remove the damage that is happening to the soil due to less groundwater. And fifth – how to stop the continuous erosion of soil due to the reduction of forests.”
He said that in this year’s Union Budget, the government has decided to encourage natural farming in the villages situated on the banks of the Ganga which will make a huge corridor for natural farming. This will not only reduce impacts of chemicals on farms but the Namami Gange campaign will also gain new strength, he added.