Centre plans media blitz on climate action ahead of Paris meet

NEW DELHI: In the run-up to the global climate conference in Paris later this year, the Modi government will launch an extensive media and public campaign for three months on efforts being made to reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change in India.

The programme, to be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in mid-September, will involve 15 ministries including environment, road transport and highways, urban development, power and renewable energy, aviation, agriculture, water resources and science and technology. The campaign will continue till mid-December, sources said.

They said the Prime Minister’s Office has suggested around 50 themes that the ministries can work on and they have got a week’s time to finalize the themes. To expedite the process considering its importance in the global meet, the PM’s principal secretary Nripendra Mishra held a meeting with the secretaries of the identified departments on Friday.

According to government officials, the suggested themes include hydropower, harnessing solar and wind energy, practicing smart agriculture to face the challenges of climate change, smart cities, fuel efficiency, green highways and Namami Gange.

These campaigns are aimed at telling the world what all India has been doing to face the challenges of climate change. All these initiatives will also be part of India’s climate action plan, which is to be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) by the end of this month.

This will also send a message to the rich nations, who are historical polluters that India has taken a number of adaptation and mitigation measures ahead of the crucial climate talks in Paris where a global climate deal is expected to be signed.