Did you know that over the past hundred years our planet has only gotten warmer? Global temperature, over the past century, has risen by almost a whole degree — and it's only getting hotter. To stem that tide, TERI School of Advanced Studies is educating ten thousand millennials to sensitise them and get them to save the world though a conclave called Climate Jamboree, to be held from November 1-3 in New Delhi.
The programme has been initiated by Dr Leena Srivastava, Vice Chancellor of TERI SAS and Dalmia Cement, “Climate Jamboree is a youth movement that solely focuses on engaging young India on climate and sustainability issues. This initiative is a result of India putting itself in a vulnerable position with respect to climate change and sustainable development. If precautions are not taken now India will be affected massively. The world cannot address the problem of climate change if India does not actively partner in it.”
With half of India’s population comprising of youth aged 25 and below, this movement is meant to provoke the young people to empathise with their surrounding environment, introspect over their current lifestyle and its effects on the environment and initiate ownership in contributing to environmental betterment. TERI is already raising the bar by implementing the ideals of Climate Jamboree in their curriculum.
This event seeks to educate individuals and institutions on the meaning of climate change, though the term may appear to be one that everyone is familiar with. The very fact that 10,000 students from across the country are participating in this event suggests that most educational institutions want to play a part in making the world a better place.
When all’s said and done we cannot forget the government and its role in this scenario. Though the Indian government has initiated the National Solar Mission and the National Mission on Sustainable Habitat, there is a long way to go, “The Government is just one of the many stakeholders in the solution space. They are an important stakeholder and they can set policies and regulations to provide the enabling framework for action, but as the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but can’t make him drink. Similarly, the government plays the part of a leading force which will be incomplete if the citizens of the respective country do not do their part in following the regulatory framework,” she states somberly.
