Keeping the Environment clean and eco-friendly is the duty of every individual to protect the ecosystem in order to have a sustainable environment in the future. Being an Indian, it’s a proud moment for us that out Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the “Champions of the Earth” award from the UN’s secretary general Antonio Guterres on 3rd October 2018 for his active participation in keeping the environment clean by reducing the usage of plastic bags by 2022, and his joint collaboration with French president Emmanuel Macron to empower the utilization of Solar energy.
What is “Champions of the Earth Trophy”?
Champions of the Earth is a prestigious honor given to the individuals from the social, civil, public and private sector backgrounds who have made outstanding contributions for the development of the environment. The award ceremony was launched by UN’s environmental programme back in 2005, and since then every year the Earth awards are given to 5 to 7 active environmental leaders due to their strong initiatives and works towards the environment.
Contributions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
This year PM Narendra Modi received this award along with the French President Emmanuel Macron for their joint effort in promoting International Solar Alliance worldwide. International Solar Alliance is a treaty that brings together government authorities of various countries receiving ample amount of sunshine and lying between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who first proposed this initiative of utilizing the solar power from the group of countries receiving maximum sunshine to eliminate the use of fossil fuel. Until now 121 countries have joined this treaty and his proposal have been accepted and equally promoted along with French President Emmanuel Macron. There are many countries in the world that are devoid of sunshine in a major part of the year and have issues in utilizing the Solar Power. Through this initiative, PM Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron have decided to supplement solar power to those countries to make the world completely dependent on Solar Energy and preserving the Environmental Ecosystem.
The second important contribution of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is his initiative to reduce the plastic consumption in India and make the environment clean and free from plastic pollution by the end of 2022. It’s a promise undertaken by the Prime Minister in front of the world that aims in changing the polluted climate of India and make it nature-friendly. He even stated that in Indian culture, trees have a great importance. They are worshiped by many people, farmers are solely dependent on them to earn their living, and the emotional attachment of Indian tribal people with trees, which they value more than anything. With the increasing pollution level and the trees being cut for the development reasons, the environment is actually getting harmed which in future can make our life difficult to survive. He also mentioned his “Swachcha Bharat Aviyan” movement, which has been actively successful in improving the cleanliness of India and making the people understand about the value of nature.
He stated that his aim is to make India a smart country that will make the technological advancements in a clean green environment and give a healthy lifestyle to all individuals.
Other Winners
Along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the prestigious award has also been given to other important personalities like-
a) Joan Carling got this award in the lifetime achievement category for her excellent work in protecting the environment from the past 20 years.
b) Joint winners Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods or reducing usage of beef with the vegetarian option and make the people aware about various alternative measures they can adapt to conserve the environment.
c) Zhejiang from China, for his outstanding efforts and contributions who has revived East China’s polluted environment into clean green one.
Conclusion
The ceremony gives a strong hope to the entire world in achieving a fresh green beautiful ecosystem in near future through the collective efforts of some many authorized personalities.
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