UPSC Essentials: One word a day – LiFE movement

Subject: Environment and Ecology

(Relevance and utilization: Prelims, Mains: GS IV and Essay (there is an element of individual behavioral change) and GS III- Environment and Ecology, for one’s own personality in general.)

Why is the term LiFE in the news?

– On the occasion of World Environment Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched the ‘Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) Movement’, a global initiative, via video conferencing.

– According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the campaign was launched with a “call for papers”, inviting ideas and suggestions from academics, universities, and research institutes for promoting an environmentally conscious lifestyle.

– Several top academics and philanthropists will contribute to the program.

What is LiFE?

– The idea of LiFE promotes an environmentally conscious lifestyle that focuses on ‘mindful and deliberate utilization’ instead of ‘mindless and wasteful consumption.

– The idea of LiFE was introduced by the Prime Minister during the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow last year.

What is the aim of the LiFE movement?

– The LiFE Movement aims to bring positive change in the environment by collective action.

– It aims to persuade individuals across the world to undertake simple climate-friendly actions in their daily lives or adoption of environment-conscious lifestyle . Global leaders have applauded India for focusing on individual behaviour change towards Climate Change

– It also seeks to make the best use of social networks to influence social norms surrounding climate.

What is P3 in LiFE movement?

– The Mission plans to create and nurture a global network of individuals, namely ‘Pro-Planet People’ (P3)

– P3 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 behaviors to be self-sustainable.

What is one of the most important objective of LiFE?

– The Mission envisions replacing the prevalent ‘use-and-dispose’ economy with a circular economy.

– ‘Use and dispose’ economy is governed by mindless and destructive consumption where as circular economy is defined by mindful and deliberate utilization.

– According to europarl.europa.eu, the circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended. In practice, it implies reducing waste to a minimum.

What have been some of the major achievements of India, as highlighted by the Prime Minister on the occasion of World Environment Day?

– Some of the major achievements of India in the environment sector, as highlighted by the Prime Minister are-

1) India’s forest cover is increasing and so is the population of lions, tigers, leopards, elephants and rhinos. (Try to support it with the data.)

2) India’s commitment to reach 40% of installed electric capacity from non-fossil fuel-based sources has been achieved, 9 years ahead of schedule.

3) The target of 10% ethanol blending in petrol has been achieved 5 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.

Points to ponder: What was the theme of this year’s World Environment Day? When and where did the idea of World Environment Day take shape?

( source: pib.gov.in, europarl.europa.eu)