Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu called for including a ‘child-centric’ approach in combating climate change while addressing an online webinar- ‘Climate Parliament with Children’. He called for interweaving child rights into key national climate change and adaptation strategies, policies and planning documents.
The ‘Parliamentarians Group for Children’ conducted on the occasion of World Children’s Day on Friday (November 20) aims to facilitate interaction between the parliamentarians and children on the crucial topic of climate change.
He called for involving children in the conversation around climate change, recognizing that the children of today are far better informed than previous generations. He emphasized the need to raise awareness on climate change, its impacts and mitigation measures in schools and grassroots level to make the children change agents and transformational leaders of the future.
Citing World Health Organization data, the Vice Presindet said that climate change will cause lakhs of additional deaths every year and majority of these deaths will occur among the children who are more susceptible to illness, injuries and malnutrition.
“Children (0-14 year) form a quarter of the world’s population and they are one of the largest and most vulnerable groups that will be impacted by climate change”, he warned.
Referring to the increasing number of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, cyclones, wildfires, the Vice President said that continuous emission of greenhouse gases has done great damage to earth’s environment and its consequences threaten the very existence of humanity.
Describing the consequences of global warming such as increase in heat stress and vector-born diseases, the Vice President warned that changing climate will also threaten world’s food security leading to hunger and malnutrition adding that children would be the worst affected.
Recalling his childhood days, Shri. Venkaiah Naidu said that he had an opportunity to grow up in the clean air and a healthy environment which should not be denied to the kids today.
Stressing the need for sustainability, Venkaiah Naidu called for striking the necessary balance between development and environment and called for the preservation of scarce resources and care for the generations to come
Reiterating the expert view that we only have a decade or so to influence the course of climate change before its adverse impacts become irreversible, the Vice President called upon the policymakers, leaders, parents and grandparents to collectively work for addressing this dire situation and usher a healthier environment for our children. “We cannot allow apathy or inaction to jeopardize our future”, he added.
In this regard, he appreciated the Government for several initiatives for environmental protection such as- signing of the Paris Climate Agreement, focus on installation of renewable energy and reduction in India’s emission intensity among others.
Shri Naidu also expressed concerns over plastic pollution, especially in oceans, where nearly 50% of single-use plastic products end up, killing marine life and entering the human food chain. He asked everyone to support the Prime Minister’s call for eradicating single-use plastic from the country by 2022.
Calling for building a safer world for the children, The Vice President said that climate change is a direct threat to a child’s ability to survive, grow, and thrive. He opined that children themselves can become the changemakers with support from peers, parents and society. “If you catch up with the children, you catch up with the society”, he said and cited the example of Swachh Bharat Mission where children are trying to bring the change.
Stressing the importance of ‘nature’ and ‘culture’ in one’s life, Shri Naidu said that we must be friendly with the nature and feel proud of our culture. “Our forefathers have given us great civilizational values such as Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, he said and called upon everyone to follow them. This value system should not be allowed to erode, he insisted.
Shri Naidu appreciated the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Irani for working hard to bring positive change in the lives of Indian women and children. He also complimented the Member of Parliament, Smt Vandana Chavan for raising the issues of children’s rights through the Parliamentarians’ Group for Children.
Smt. Smriti Irani, the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt Vandana Chavan, Convener of Parliamentarians’ Group for Children, Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF representative for India, several MPs, child rights activists and children were among those who participated in the virtual event.
(Source: PIB)