From AI to Gen Z’s ‘revolutionary’ role: Experts discuss ‘Future of Recycling’ at WION’s Mission Sustainability

At the third edition of the Mission Sustainability at Taj Mansingh, New Delhi, on Tuesday (Dec 2), experts highlighted the immediate need to find ways to recycle plastic at the session ‘Recycling for the Future’. During the session, WION’s Diksha Bisla emphasised the need for recycling plastic to sustain our planet for future generations. At the summit, experts discussed several topics ranging from recycling plastics, pollution, Artificial Intelligence and Gen Z’s role for a sustainable future.

Aarti Khosla, Founder & Director of Climate Trends, highlighted that the most urgent climate crisis that India is facing is heat stress. She added that the issue results in a significant loss of GDP for the nation.

“The single most urgent climate crisis India is facing is heat stress. This is simply because of India’s geographical location and the fact that large parts of our population are exposed to extreme heat for most of the year,” she said. “The impact of heat stress on India can significantly affect the economy. The loss to India’s GDP due to heatwaves can range anywhere between 0.5 per cent and 1 per cent.”

Speaking about the problem of pollution in Delhi, Dr Ruby Makhija, Founder, Why Waste Wednesdays Foundation and Community Sustainability Leader, said that stubble burning is a major problem in the country.

“I belong to Delhi, and I have seen the city's graph go down in the last few decades. I had this feeling that this is my city, and there is something I need to do for my city. I want a livable city. I think I strongly believe that we'll have to earn it for ourselves more than anything else,” said Dr Ruby Makhija, Founder, Why Waste Wednesdays Foundation; Community Sustainability Leader.

She stressed that there is a need to look for sustainable ways to reuse stubble, such as for power plants. “Stubble should have been recycled,” she said, adding that it should be recycled in an organised way. She said that we have to adapt and make sure that the infrastructure is resilient to achieve the sustainability goals.

Makhija also talked about Gen Z’s role in sustainability, saying that “What Gen Z has done is truly revolutionary.” She added, “They’ve made sustainability a cool concept. So if they think thrifting is cool, we should make sustainable retail more accessible.”

Ashok Khosla, President, Hydropower Sustainability Alliance; former Chair, UN International Resource Panel, stressed that it is important to have strict legislation and laws that can help in making cleaner solutions for the environment. He added that creating livelihoods that are green will play a vital role.

During the session, the future possibility of artificial intelligence (AI) replacing jobs was also discussed. Ashok Khosla said, “The history of technological change shows that although new tech seems to threaten jobs. They tend to create new ones. It is true from typewriter to computer and every tech change. I personally don't think AI will be displacing more people than it creates jobs for. There would be opportunities for people who respect them.”