Sustained action on ground, behavioural change stressed to deal with impacts of climate change

Senior Correspondent

NewsBits.in

BHOPAL: Event titled ClimateCon – the season one of climate conversation was organised on May 1 by the Madhya Pradesh office of UNICEF.

The aim of the event was to engage diverse partners such as social media influencers, podcasters, media, civil society organizations and environmentalists as part of its effort to increase discourse on the issue and to seek solutions.

Speaking at the meet Saurabh Popli, who works on environment and also is associate professor with School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) Bhopal, said that global temperatures are increasing and it has significant implications for human societies and ecosystems.

 Lokendra Thakkar, Officer In-charge, State Wetland Authority and Coordinator Climate Change, Environmental Planning and Coordination Organisation (EPCO) of Government of Madhya Pradesh, said that it is time for wider discourse on the issue of climate change and taking action on ground.

He said we also need to address food wastage as it adds to the carbon footprints and has an impact on climate change. He spoke of experiences from the ground and how important it is to not only to plant trees, but to say no to cutting of trees, and to take care of existing trees and stressed on behaviour change at personal level.

Anil Gulati, Officer in-charge UNICEF spoke on how climate change is impacting children, be it education, health or nutrition, or impact of disaster. He spoke of the circular economy and impact of increased production and less recycling of waste on climate.

He added that through these climate conversations we wish to encourage discussion on the challenges, solutions and seek answers for the state and therefore the event was planned with representations from Government, CSOs, media, social media influencers and industry. 

Pradeep Karambelkar of BNI - Business Network International, and President of FICCI said that as Industry we need to take action and seek solutions which are more eco friendly in nature.

G K Mishra, who has a business of carbon credits said that we need to look at solutions to encourage a new ecosystem for CSR in the industry. Amit Dogra, Health Officer, UNICEF spoke on the impact of climate change on health of child, pregnant women and child nutrition.

Dr Sakhsi Bhardwaj of JungleVase who works on urban jungle talked about her company which works on creating urban jungle and actions one can take be it small to impact on climate change.

Shivani Rajput, media consultant said that we should be harnessing the energy of social media to disseminate messages on climate action and call to protect nature.

As part of a united resolve, participants were asked to make personal commitments on the issue of personal change and paste it on a tree created in the meet. Participants were given a bird feeder, seeds to be planted and a bag made of cloth for use instead of a regular kit.