Climate change activists placed hundreds of trees outside the British parliament on Tuesday (October 8) to call on the government and members of parliament to plant billions of trees across the UK and support the planting of trillions all over the world.

Climate change activists plant trees outside UK parliament

On Tuesday, 'Charging Bull' which is the iconic statue of Wall Street in New York took up as the target for the 'Extinction Rally' of climate protesters. Protesters rage on statue by pouring the fake blood all over the statue.

WION Wallet: Wall Street's iconic 'Charging Bull' became haunt of climate change protesters

Thousands of&nbsp;climate-change&nbsp;protesters&nbsp;took to the&nbsp;streets&nbsp;in cities&nbsp;around&nbsp;the&nbsp;world&nbsp;on Monday, launching two weeks of peaceful civil disobedience to demand immediate action to cut carbon emissions and avert an ecological disaster.

In London, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/climate-change-protests-kicks-off-central-london-254315">police arrested 276 activists </a>from the Extinction Rebellion group as they&nbsp;blocked bridges and roads in the city center, and glued themselves to cars, while&nbsp;protesters&nbsp;in Berlin halted traffic at the Victory Column roundabout.

Dutch police stepped in to arrest more than 100&nbsp;climate&nbsp;activists&nbsp;blocking a street in front of the country's national museum and there were similar protests in Austria, Australia, France, Spain, and New Zealand.

"SORRY that we&nbsp;blocked the road, but this is an emergency," declared placards held by activists in Amsterdam.

In New York's financial district,&nbsp;protesters&nbsp;spattered the Wall Street Bull and themselves with fake blood and lay prone&nbsp;around&nbsp;the sculpture to evoke their fears of a deadly environmental catastrophe.

The protests are the latest stage in an global campaign for tougher and swifter steps against&nbsp;climate&nbsp;change coordinated by <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/paris-climate-activists-kick-off-global-extinction-rebellion-protests-254022">Extinction Rebellion</a>, which rose to prominence in April when it snarled traffic in central London for 11 days.

Last month, millions of young people flooded onto the&nbsp;streets&nbsp;of cities&nbsp;around&nbsp;the&nbsp;world, inspired to take action by 16-year-old <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/in-pics-how-dare-you-greta-thunberg-thunders-at-world-leaders-at-united-nations-251573">Swedish activist Greta Thunberg</a>.

Extinction Rebellion says it expects peaceful protests over the next two weeks in more than 60 cities from New Delhi to New York calling on governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025 and halt a loss of biodiversity.

Banging drums and chanting,&nbsp;protesters&nbsp;in London took over Trafalgar Square and marched down the Mall, the avenue that leads to Buckingham Palace. They carried banners with slogans including "Climate&nbsp;change denies our children a future unless we act now".

"We're here because the government is not doing enough on the&nbsp;climate&nbsp;emergency," protester Lizzy Mansfield said. "We only get one planet and so we're here to try and defend it."

Police chiefs said last week they would mobilise thousands of officers to handle the protests in London and that anyone who broke the law, even as part of non-violent civil disobedience, would be arrested.

On Saturday, officers used a battering ram to enter a building in south London where activists had been storing materials to use during the protests. Eight people were arrested during the raid.

Defying almost freezing temperatures in Berlin, activists singing "Solid as a rock, rooted as a tree" gathered at dawn at the Victory Column roundabout near Tiergarten park.

At sunrise, some were sleeping in insulated bags in the middle of the roundabout as police on motorbikes drove by. No arrests were made and the protest remained peaceful.

Police&nbsp;blocked the five avenues that converge on the roundabout to stop cars and buses reaching the demonstration, as this would have resulted in traffic chaos during rush hour.

By midday, the protest had swelled to 4,000 people, a policeman said, and a second main roundabout was also&nbsp;blocked by activists sitting in the middle of the road.

Police began removing chanting&nbsp;protesters&nbsp;from Berlin's Potsdamer Platz later in the day after they had occupied the central artery for much of the day, singing, making speeches and fashioning a makeshift camp out of salvaged armchairs and tents.

The rallies came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended&nbsp;climate&nbsp;protection measures her government is due to approve on Wednesday but which critics have condemned as unambitious.

In Amsterdam, police were lining up empty city buses to take the arrested demonstrators away as they tried to clear a major thoroughfare in the afternoon.

"The&nbsp;climate&nbsp;crisis is not being taken seriously enough by politics, and also not by the companies. That's why I joined," said one demonstrator, who gave his name as Christiaan.

Meanwhile activists in London, some wearing yellow safety helmets with "Rebel at Work" painted on the side, glued or chained themselves to cars parked in the middle of roads or to street lamps, making it hard for police officers to detain them.

"We are out of time, there is none left, we have to act now," said a protester called Benjamin.

In central Paris, dozens of Extinction Rebellion activists&nbsp;blocked a street and bridge in the Chatelet district. They also built temporary shelters or held impromptu concerts and workshops in a good-natured atmosphere.

"This is clearly non-violent, it is human, we are not here with guns, we are here as human beings," protester Francoise Loiseau said.

With events like extreme weather, thawing permafrost and a sea-level rise unfolding much faster than expected, scientists say the urgency of the&nbsp;climate&nbsp;crisis has intensified since the signing in 2015 of the Paris accord on curbing global warming.

Nearly 70 countries announced plans at a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/who-said-what-at-united-nations-climate-summit-251604">U.N.&nbsp;climate&nbsp;action summit</a> last month to beef up their Paris pledges, but most major economies including the United States and China failed to announce stronger new measures.

Thousands of climate-change protesters took to the streets in cities around the world on Monday, launching two weeks of peaceful civil disobedience to demand immediate action to cut carbon emissions and avert an ecological disaster.

Thousands of climate-change protesters took to the streets in cities around the world on Monday, launching two weeks of peaceful civil disobedience to demand immediate action to cut carbon emissions and avert an ecological disaster. In London, police arrested 276 activists from the Extinction Rebellion group as they blocked bridges and roads in the city center, and glued themselves to cars, while protesters in Berlin halted traffic at the Victory Column roundabout. Dutch police stepped in to arrest more than 100 climate activists blocking a street in front of the country's national museum and there were similar protests in Austria, Australia, France, Spain, and New Zealand. "SORRY that we blocked the road, but this is an emergency," declared placards held by activists in Amsterdam. In New York's financial district, protesters spattered the Wall Street Bull and themselves with fake blood and lay prone around the sculpture to evoke their fears of a deadly environmental catastrophe. The protests are the latest stage in an global campaign for tougher and swifter steps against climate change coordinated by Extinction Rebellion, which rose to prominence in April when it snarled traffic in central London for 11 days. Last month, millions of young people flooded onto the streets of cities around the world, inspired to take action by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Extinction Rebellion says it expects peaceful protests over the next two weeks in more than 60 cities from New Delhi to New York calling on governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025 and halt a loss of biodiversity. Banging drums and chanting, protesters in London took over Trafalgar Square and marched down the Mall, the avenue that leads to Buckingham Palace. They carried banners with slogans including "Climate change denies our children a future unless we act now". "We're here because the government is not doing enough on the climate emergency," protester Lizzy Mansfield said. "We only get one planet and so we're here to try and defend it." Police chiefs said last week they would mobilise thousands of officers to handle the protests in London and that anyone who broke the law, even as part of non-violent civil disobedience, would be arrested. On Saturday, officers used a battering ram to enter a building in south London where activists had been storing materials to use during the protests. Eight people were arrested during the raid. Defying almost freezing temperatures in Berlin, activists singing "Solid as a rock, rooted as a tree" gathered at dawn at the Victory Column roundabout near Tiergarten park. At sunrise, some were sleeping in insulated bags in the middle of the roundabout as police on motorbikes drove by. No arrests were made and the protest remained peaceful. Police blocked the five avenues that converge on the roundabout to stop cars and buses reaching the demonstration, as this would have resulted in traffic chaos during rush hour. By midday, the protest had swelled to 4,000 people, a policeman said, and a second main roundabout was also blocked by activists sitting in the middle of the road. Police began removing chanting protesters from Berlin's Potsdamer Platz later in the day after they had occupied the central artery for much of the day, singing, making speeches and fashioning a makeshift camp out of salvaged armchairs and tents. The rallies came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended climate protection measures her government is due to approve on Wednesday but which critics have condemned as unambitious. In Amsterdam, police were lining up empty city buses to take the arrested demonstrators away as they tried to clear a major thoroughfare in the afternoon. "The climate crisis is not being taken seriously enough by politics, and also not by the companies. That's why I joined," said one demonstrator, who gave his name as Christiaan. Meanwhile activists in London, some wearing yellow safety helmets with "Rebel at Work" painted on the side, glued or chained themselves to cars parked in the middle of roads or to street lamps, making it hard for police officers to detain them. "We are out of time, there is none left, we have to act now," said a protester called Benjamin. In central Paris, dozens of Extinction Rebellion activists blocked a street and bridge in the Chatelet district. They also built temporary shelters or held impromptu concerts and workshops in a good-natured atmosphere. "This is clearly non-violent, it is human, we are not here with guns, we are here as human beings," protester Francoise Loiseau said. With events like extreme weather, thawing permafrost and a sea-level rise unfolding much faster than expected, scientists say the urgency of the climate crisis has intensified since the signing in 2015 of the Paris accord on curbing global warming. Nearly 70 countries announced plans at a U.N. climate action summit last month to beef up their Paris pledges, but most major economies including the United States and China failed to announce stronger new measures.

'Sorry, this is an emergency': Climate protesters block streets around the world

Extinction Rebellion: Climate protests around world

Climate crisis finally getting the attraction that it deserves. The whole world has been gripped by the protests against climate change these days. Watch this video to know in detail.

Climate change crisis finally getting attraction that it deserves

India seeks to be a leader in the Climate Change Action, as manifested by its initiatives towards reducing fossil fuel dependency and emissions, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/nationalism-is-not-a-negative-sentiment-says-foreign-minister-s-jaishankar-253719">External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar</a> said here on Monday, adding that New Delhi would not limit these efforts to its own soil only. 
 
Delivering a keynote address on the occasion of the completion of 55 years of Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, Jaishankar said: "India seeks to be the leader in Climate Change Action. India's initiative of the International Solar Alliance led by the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a testimony to the fact that we are committed to a clean and sustainable future for the children of tomorrow. We are fast moving towards the use of clean technologies and e-vehicles for the reduction of fossil fuel dependency and emissions." 
 
Jaishankar noted that the country has the fastest-growing solar energy programme in the world, and has set a target of production of 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy as part of the Solar Alliance Initiative and its integration in the main power grid, which are "well on its way to be achieved." 
 
He said that the significance of these achievements lies in the fact that India does not limit its efforts towards climate change action to its soil. 
 
"Much of our development assistance, particularly capacity building through ITEC is geared around training and projects in solar technologies and other renewables in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific island countries." 
 
The Minister noted that&nbsp;developmental cooperation has always played a central role in India's foreign policy and its relations with partner countries are based on the principles of equality, mutual respect for sovereignty and freedom of action and choice. 
 
"It is not based on competition, conditionalities or prescriptions. It stems from the spirit of solidarity to enhance mutual learning for shared and sustainable growth. These are also the cornerstones in our capacity building initiatives which span from Latin American countries to Pacific Island countries, as we traverse similar paths of development," he said. 
 
Recounting the challenges of population resource imbalances, rising inequities, and climate change, among others faced by the developing countries today, the minister said that India is committed to facing these challenges by expanding its "partnership choices in foreign cooperation and (by) resolving to collaborate more closely to press ahead with our SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)." 
 
"Thus, in its own modest way, India has also tried to step-up the material resources and enabling mechanisms, especially in the past one decade in sharing of our development experience with the rest of the world," he said. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/eam-s-jaishankar-meets-us-national-security-advisor-robert-obrien-253610">Some of the steps taken by the MEA</a> in this regard include the setting up of the Development Partnership Administration Division as a dedicated agency within MEA, enhancement of budget allocations for partner countries, increase in the size of the Foreign Service, including the hiring of subject matter experts, increasing number of scholarships. 
 
"Moreover, in all the recent development co-operation initiatives, capacity building has been a central theme. Several announcements for enhancement of ITEC training slots have been made during the recent bilateral visits and also at the various multilateral engagements such as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), IAFS-III, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), FIPIC- to name a few," he said. 
 
He said that such capacity-building efforts by India are in line with the country's neighbourhood first policy. "This is of course not to undermine our efforts of co-operation with our other regional partners which are equally valuable and unique," he said. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/external-affairs-minister-s-jaishankar-meets-pompeo-in-washington-253141">Jaishankar said that India is acutely aware</a> of the role of affordable and quality healthcare, professional skills and higher education as determinants of human development. 
 
The minister said he is "delighted to have launched" the e-Vidya Bharti and e-Arogya Bharti, teleeducation and telemedicine project for Africa, "which is one of the largest projects being executed by the Ministry. 
 
"This project will enable African students to access premier Indian education through the comforts of their homes and offer Indian medical expertise to African doctors and patients alike," added Jaishankar

India seeks to be a leader in the Climate Change Action, as manifested by its initiatives towards reducing fossil fuel dependency and emissions, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said here on Monday, adding that New Delhi would not limit these efforts to its own soil only.

India seeks to be a leader in the Climate Change Action, as manifested by its initiatives towards reducing fossil fuel dependency and emissions, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said here on Monday, adding that New Delhi would not limit these efforts to its own soil only. Delivering a keynote address on the occasion of the completion of 55 years of Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, Jaishankar said: "India seeks to be the leader in Climate Change Action. India's initiative of the International Solar Alliance led by the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a testimony to the fact that we are committed to a clean and sustainable future for the children of tomorrow. We are fast moving towards the use of clean technologies and e-vehicles for the reduction of fossil fuel dependency and emissions." Jaishankar noted that the country has the fastest-growing solar energy programme in the world, and has set a target of production of 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy as part of the Solar Alliance Initiative and its integration in the main power grid, which are "well on its way to be achieved." He said that the significance of these achievements lies in the fact that India does not limit its efforts towards climate change action to its soil. "Much of our development assistance, particularly capacity building through ITEC is geared around training and projects in solar technologies and other renewables in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific island countries." The Minister noted that developmental cooperation has always played a central role in India's foreign policy and its relations with partner countries are based on the principles of equality, mutual respect for sovereignty and freedom of action and choice. "It is not based on competition, conditionalities or prescriptions. It stems from the spirit of solidarity to enhance mutual learning for shared and sustainable growth. These are also the cornerstones in our capacity building initiatives which span from Latin American countries to Pacific Island countries, as we traverse similar paths of development," he said. Recounting the challenges of population resource imbalances, rising inequities, and climate change, among others faced by the developing countries today, the minister said that India is committed to facing these challenges by expanding its "partnership choices in foreign cooperation and (by) resolving to collaborate more closely to press ahead with our SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)." "Thus, in its own modest way, India has also tried to step-up the material resources and enabling mechanisms, especially in the past one decade in sharing of our development experience with the rest of the world," he said. Some of the steps taken by the MEA in this regard include the setting up of the Development Partnership Administration Division as a dedicated agency within MEA, enhancement of budget allocations for partner countries, increase in the size of the Foreign Service, including the hiring of subject matter experts, increasing number of scholarships. "Moreover, in all the recent development co-operation initiatives, capacity building has been a central theme. Several announcements for enhancement of ITEC training slots have been made during the recent bilateral visits and also at the various multilateral engagements such as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), IAFS-III, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), FIPIC- to name a few," he said. He said that such capacity-building efforts by India are in line with the country's neighbourhood first policy. "This is of course not to undermine our efforts of co-operation with our other regional partners which are equally valuable and unique," he said. Jaishankar said that India is acutely aware of the role of affordable and quality healthcare, professional skills and higher education as determinants of human development. The minister said he is "delighted to have launched" the e-Vidya Bharti and e-Arogya Bharti, teleeducation and telemedicine project for Africa, "which is one of the largest projects being executed by the Ministry. "This project will enable African students to access premier Indian education through the comforts of their homes and offer Indian medical expertise to African doctors and patients alike," added Jaishankar

India seeks to be leader in climate change action, says Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar

Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg has responded with wry humour on Twitter to patronising comments made about her by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The 16-year-old changed her Twitter biography to say "A kind but poorly informed teenager" after Putin described her in these terms at a Moscow forum this week.

On Wednesday, Putin said,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/putin-i-dont-share-excitement-about-greta-thunbergs-un-speech-253426">"I don't share the general enthusiasm"</a> for Greta Thunberg's impassioned speech at the United Nations climate summit in September, which went viral with her repeated question: "How dare you?"

"I'm sure Greta is a kind girl and very sincere," Putin said of the campaigner who sailed across the Atlantic instead of flying to speak at the U.N.

However, "no one explained" to Thunberg, who has 2.7 million followers on Twitter, that "the modern world is developing quickly," he lamented.

Putin said it was praiseworthy for young people to raise environmental issues, but raised the possibility that someone was manipulating Thunberg "in their own interests".

He warned, "adults must do all they can not to lead teenagers and children into any extreme situations."

US President Donald Trump also attempted to crush Thunberg, only for her to use his own words against him.

After <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/in-pics-how-dare-you-greta-thunberg-thunders-at-world-leaders-at-united-nations-251573">her speech at the UN</a>, Trump mocked her tone on Twitter, saying she "seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future."

Thunberg later changed her Twitter biography to read,&nbsp;"A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future."

Thunberg has been tipped as a possible winner of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/race-for-nobel-peace-prize-amps-up-253245">this year Nobel Peace Prize</a>.

Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg has responded with wry humour on Twitter to patronising comments made about her by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 16-year-old changed her Twitter biography to say "A kind but poorly informed teenager" after Putin described her in these terms at a Moscow forum this week.

Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg has responded with wry humour on Twitter to patronising comments made about her by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 16-year-old changed her Twitter biography to say "A kind but poorly informed teenager" after Putin described her in these terms at a Moscow forum this week. On Wednesday, Putin said, "I don't share the general enthusiasm" for Greta Thunberg's impassioned speech at the United Nations climate summit in September, which went viral with her repeated question: "How dare you?" "I'm sure Greta is a kind girl and very sincere," Putin said of the campaigner who sailed across the Atlantic instead of flying to speak at the U.N. However, "no one explained" to Thunberg, who has 2.7 million followers on Twitter, that "the modern world is developing quickly," he lamented. Putin said it was praiseworthy for young people to raise environmental issues, but raised the possibility that someone was manipulating Thunberg "in their own interests". He warned, "adults must do all they can not to lead teenagers and children into any extreme situations." US President Donald Trump also attempted to crush Thunberg, only for her to use his own words against him. After her speech at the UN, Trump mocked her tone on Twitter, saying she "seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future." Thunberg later changed her Twitter biography to read, "A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future." Thunberg has been tipped as a possible winner of this year Nobel Peace Prize.

Greta Thunberg mocks Putin's 'kind girl' jibes on Twitter

Sixteen-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has made it her mission to lower greenhouse gas emissions and make the world a greener, more sustainable place. She was widely celebrated after her speech at the United Nations this September. But many critics have said she is being used. World leaders&nbsp;have criticised her and have divided views over Greta becoming face of the climate change movement.

While there are many who support Greta’s climate change movement, US President Donald Trump has already criticised Greta Thunberg for her speech at the U.N. Even, the Australian PM Scott Morrison is not far behind to take a jibe at young climate change activists, he criticised her saying that 'let kids be kids', adult should do the work.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently dismissed Greta as poorly informed teenager and said that someone is using the teenager to make money out of it. Targeting her speech and activism, Putin called her “poorly informed teenager who is telling developing countries that they should keep living in poverty. While sending a contemptuous and passionate admonishment to the UN leaders in New York, the 16-year-old climate activist accused five of the world's prime leaders of betraying younger generations through inadequate action on the deteriorating climate conditions. Greta’s complaint accuses Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, and Turkey of inaction on global warming that violates the UN convention on the rights of the child. After this accusation, French president Emmanuel Macron told that her stance is very radical and likely to "antagonize societies.”

From news commentators to world leaders and even one of the biggest fashion brand like Louis Vuitton are dismissing Greta’s activism against climate change and the number of people panning her has been piling up, one of the leading US News channel called Thunberg’s United Nations speech “chilling,” and ran segment about how climate change “hysteria” is changing American youth.

However, it's important to note that there are people who have been supporting her too and she has been an inspiration for many youths who are raising issues which matters to the world.

From Trudeau joining climate march in Montreal to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s offer to lend&nbsp;his electric car to Thunberg, Greta has gathered support from the world. Even Prince Harry thinks there's an emergency and the world's children are striking.

Detractors have dismissed Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, a Nobel prize nominee as mentally ill, hysterical and a millennial individualist after she pleaded with world officials last week to address the climate crisis. Thunberg has Asperger's syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder often characterised by social awkwardness, difficulty interpreting social cues, and an obsessive preoccupation with a particular interest.

But in reality, Thunberg is cutting through—rather than displaying sentiments and emotions. What certain leaders do not wish to acknowledge is that asking for action on climate change is entirely rational. 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Sixteen-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has made it her mission to lower greenhouse gas emissions and make the world a greener, more sustainable place. She was widely celebrated after her speech at the United Nations this September.

Sixteen-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has made it her mission to lower greenhouse gas emissions and make the world a greener, more sustainable place. She was widely celebrated after her speech at the United Nations this September. But many critics have said she is being used. World leaders have criticised her and have divided views over Greta becoming face of the climate change movement. While there are many who support Greta’s climate change movement, US President Donald Trump has already criticised Greta Thunberg for her speech at the U.N. Even, the Australian PM Scott Morrison is not far behind to take a jibe at young climate change activists, he criticised her saying that 'let kids be kids', adult should do the work. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently dismissed Greta as poorly informed teenager and said that someone is using the teenager to make money out of it. Targeting her speech and activism, Putin called her “poorly informed teenager who is telling developing countries that they should keep living in poverty. While sending a contemptuous and passionate admonishment to the UN leaders in New York, the 16-year-old climate activist accused five of the world's prime leaders of betraying younger generations through inadequate action on the deteriorating climate conditions. Greta’s complaint accuses Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, and Turkey of inaction on global warming that violates the UN convention on the rights of the child. After this accusation, French president Emmanuel Macron told that her stance is very radical and likely to "antagonize societies.” From news commentators to world leaders and even one of the biggest fashion brand like Louis Vuitton are dismissing Greta’s activism against climate change and the number of people panning her has been piling up, one of the leading US News channel called Thunberg’s United Nations speech “chilling,” and ran segment about how climate change “hysteria” is changing American youth. However, it's important to note that there are people who have been supporting her too and she has been an inspiration for many youths who are raising issues which matters to the world. From Trudeau joining climate march in Montreal to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s offer to lend his electric car to Thunberg, Greta has gathered support from the world. Even Prince Harry thinks there's an emergency and the world's children are striking. Detractors have dismissed Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, a Nobel prize nominee as mentally ill, hysterical and a millennial individualist after she pleaded with world officials last week to address the climate crisis. Thunberg has Asperger's syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder often characterised by social awkwardness, difficulty interpreting social cues, and an obsessive preoccupation with a particular interest. But in reality, Thunberg is cutting through—rather than displaying sentiments and emotions. What certain leaders do not wish to acknowledge is that asking for action on climate change is entirely rational. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Greta Thunberg: To be or not to be

Greta Thunberg Has Emerged As The Face Of Climate Activism. But Several World Leaders Question Her Motives Greta Thunberg divides opinion. The teenager is the face of climate activism for some while there are others who question her motives. Several world leaders view her as a 'kid' and opine that tackling climate change is best left for the 'adults'. @Palkisu summarises.

Gravitas: Greta Thunberg: Activist Or Imposter?

French carrier&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/wion-wallet-xl-airways-seeks-rescue-deal-with-air-france-251933">Air&nbsp;France</a>&nbsp;will&nbsp;offset&nbsp;the carbon dioxide&nbsp;emissions&nbsp;of its 500-odd&nbsp;daily&nbsp;internal flights by 2020 at a cost of millions of euros, the company's CEO has announced.

In a bid to counteract its climate impact, the company will finance projects that support tree planting, forest protection and the global shift to less-polluting energy, Anne Rigail told Le Parisien newspaper.&nbsp;&nbsp;

"It is an investment of several million euros, she said in an interview published late Monday, adding the company was acting "voluntarily".&nbsp;

Other projects would include banning single-use plastics such as cutlery from local flights as from January, and "to start separating and recycling waste" from October.&nbsp;

The airline industry has been under fire over its carbon&nbsp;emissions, which at 285 grammes of&nbsp;CO2&nbsp;emitted per kilometre travelled by each passenger, far exceed all other modes of transport, according to the European Environment Agency.&nbsp;

Heavy-duty transportation, freight trucking, shipping and aviation, represent over a tenth of global greenhouse gas&nbsp;emissions, says the World Resources Institute, a research body.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;emissions&nbsp;contribute to global warming and climate change, which scientists say will unleash ever harsher droughts, superstorms, and sea-level rise.

In July,&nbsp;France&nbsp;announced it would impose new taxes on plane tickets of between 1.50 and 18 euros per flight, a move criticised by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/air-france-emirates-maintain-cairo-flights-after-british-air-suspension-237472">Air&nbsp;France</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

It is meant to raise about 180 million euros a&nbsp;year&nbsp;to be invested in greener transport infrastructure.&nbsp;

Rigail said she did not know if there had been a drop in passenger numbers due to a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/a-nobel-for-swedens-greta-thunberg-a-tough-decision-for-prize-committee-252010">campaign of "flight shaming"</a>&nbsp;spearheaded by 16-year-old schoolgirl Greta Thunberg, who has become a symbol of the fight against climate change.&nbsp;

French carrier Air France will offset the carbon dioxide emissions of its 500-odd daily internal flights by 2020 at a cost of millions of euros, the company's CEO has announced.

French carrier Air France will offset the carbon dioxide emissions of its 500-odd daily internal flights by 2020 at a cost of millions of euros, the company's CEO has announced. In a bid to counteract its climate impact, the company will finance projects that support tree planting, forest protection and the global shift to less-polluting energy, Anne Rigail told Le Parisien newspaper. "It is an investment of several million euros, she said in an interview published late Monday, adding the company was acting "voluntarily". Other projects would include banning single-use plastics such as cutlery from local flights as from January, and "to start separating and recycling waste" from October. The airline industry has been under fire over its carbon emissions, which at 285 grammes of CO2 emitted per kilometre travelled by each passenger, far exceed all other modes of transport, according to the European Environment Agency. Heavy-duty transportation, freight trucking, shipping and aviation, represent over a tenth of global greenhouse gas emissions, says the World Resources Institute, a research body. The emissions contribute to global warming and climate change, which scientists say will unleash ever harsher droughts, superstorms, and sea-level rise. In July, France announced it would impose new taxes on plane tickets of between 1.50 and 18 euros per flight, a move criticised by Air France. It is meant to raise about 180 million euros a year to be invested in greener transport infrastructure. Rigail said she did not know if there had been a drop in passenger numbers due to a campaign of "flight shaming" spearheaded by 16-year-old schoolgirl Greta Thunberg, who has become a symbol of the fight against climate change.

Air France to offset daily CO2 emissions by next year

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday aimed teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, telling an energy forum that he did not share the excitement about her United Nations speech last month.

The 16-year-old Swede electrified the U.N. summit in New York when she denounced world leaders for failing to tackle climate change, unleashing the outrage felt by millions of her peers by demanding, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/how-dare-you-greta-thunberg-asks-world-leaders-at-un-251559">"How dare you?"</a>.

Putin, chairing a session at an energy forum in Moscow, said,&nbsp;"I may disappoint you but I don't share the common excitement about the speech by Greta Thunberg."

"No one has explained to Greta that the modern world is complex and different and ... people in Africa or many Asian countries want to live at the same wealth level as in Sweden."

US President Donald Trump mocked Thunberg and Canadian Member of Parliament Maxime Bernier called her alarmist and mentally unstable. Thunberg said their mockery of children showed her message had become <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/climate-movement-now-too-loud-to-handle-for-trump-and-critics-says-greta-thunberg-252545">"too loud to handle".</a>

Putin said young people who paid attention to environmental issues should be supported, adding,&nbsp;"But when someone is using children and teenagers in personal interests, it only deserves to be condemned.

"I'm sure that Greta is a kind and very sincere girl. But adults must do everything not to bring teenagers and children into some extreme situations."

Inspired by Thunberg's solitary weekly protest outside the Swedish parliament a year ago, millions of people have poured onto the streets around the globe to demand governments take emergency action on climate change.

Thunberg told the U.N. conference, "This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?."

"You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words," she said.

Earlier this week, a member of the Russian lower house of parliament, the Duma, invited Thunberg to Russia to deliver a speech.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday aimed teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, telling an energy forum that he did not share the excitement about her United Nations speech last month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday aimed teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, telling an energy forum that he did not share the excitement about her United Nations speech last month. The 16-year-old Swede electrified the U.N. summit in New York when she denounced world leaders for failing to tackle climate change, unleashing the outrage felt by millions of her peers by demanding, "How dare you?". Putin, chairing a session at an energy forum in Moscow, said, "I may disappoint you but I don't share the common excitement about the speech by Greta Thunberg." "No one has explained to Greta that the modern world is complex and different and ... people in Africa or many Asian countries want to live at the same wealth level as in Sweden." US President Donald Trump mocked Thunberg and Canadian Member of Parliament Maxime Bernier called her alarmist and mentally unstable. Thunberg said their mockery of children showed her message had become "too loud to handle". Putin said young people who paid attention to environmental issues should be supported, adding, "But when someone is using children and teenagers in personal interests, it only deserves to be condemned. "I'm sure that Greta is a kind and very sincere girl. But adults must do everything not to bring teenagers and children into some extreme situations." Inspired by Thunberg's solitary weekly protest outside the Swedish parliament a year ago, millions of people have poured onto the streets around the globe to demand governments take emergency action on climate change. Thunberg told the U.N. conference, "This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?." "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words," she said. Earlier this week, a member of the Russian lower house of parliament, the Duma, invited Thunberg to Russia to deliver a speech.

I don't share excitement about Greta Thunberg's U.N. speech: Russian President Vladimir putin

Climate Change Continues To Hurt Millions Of People Around The World. Extreme weather events due to climate change continue to wreak havoc on millions of people across the world. The state of Montana in the U.S. has declared an emergency over snowstorm while hundreds have lost their lives in floods in India. Such weather events are hurting Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia too. This report explores.

Gravitas: Climate change triggers extreme weather events across the world

By Danilo Ignacio de Urzedo

Last week’s United Nations climate summit may go down in history - but not for the reasons intended. It was not the tipping point for action on global warming that organisers hoped it would be. It will instead probably be remembered for the powerful address by Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg, who castigated world leaders on behalf of the generation set to bear the brunt of inaction.

Young people are not sitting back and waiting for older generations to act on the climate crisis. Days before the summit, school students led a climate strike attended by millions around the world. And at the first-ever UN youth climate summit, more than 500 young people from 60 countries, including myself, explored how to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement.

This group of activists, innovators, entrepreneurs, and change-makers aged between 18 and 30 showcased potential solutions and put global political leaders on notice: they must fight off the climate crisis at the scale and pace required.

Youth voices matter

Youth aged 15 to 24 years represent 16 per cent&nbsp;of the world population and will reach 1.3 billion people by 2030. Obviously the action (or otherwise) of today’s decision-makers on climate change and other environmental threats will affect generations to come - a principle known as intergenerational equity.

Millions of young people around the world are already affected by climate change. Speaking at the youth summit, Fijian climate action advocate Komal Kumar said her nation was at the frontline of a crisis and worldwide, young people were “living in constant fear and climate anxiety … fearing the future”.

“Stop hindering the work [towards a sustainable future] for short term profits. Engage young people in the design of adaptation plans,” she said. “We will hold you accountable. And if you do not remember, we will mobilise to vote you out.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres attended the event and his deputy Amina Mohammed took part in a “town hall” with the attendees, alongside senior representatives from government and civil society.

Young people are not sitting idly by

Technological solutions presented by youth summit participants included 3D printing using plastic waste, data storage in plant DNA, a weather app for farmers and an accountability platform for sustainable fashion.

Participants learnt how to amplify their voices using Instagram and how to create engaging videos with their mobile phones. An art workshop taught youth how creativity can help solve the climate emergency, and a networking session showed ways that youth leaders to stay connected and support each other.

Elsewhere, you don’t have to look far to see examples of young climate warriors, including in the developing world.

Programmes funded by the UN development program include in Kazakhstan where youth are helping implement an energy efficiency project in schools, and in Namibia where young people are being trained as tour guides in national parks and nature reserves. In Nepal, young people cultivate wild Himalayan cherry trees as a natural solution to land degradation.

Harness the power of nature 
 
Kenyan environmental activist Wanjuhi Njoroge told the youth summit of her nation’s progress in restoring the country’s forest cover.

Nature-based solutions to the climate crisis - such as conserving and restoring forests, grasslands and wetlands - were a key focus at the summit. Efforts to meet the Paris climate goals often focus on cutting fossil fuel use. But nature has a huge ability to store carbon as plants grow. Avoiding deforestation keeps this carbon from entering the atmosphere.

Thunberg and British writer George Monbiot released a film ahead on the New York summit calling on world leaders protect, restore and fund natural climate solutions.

To date, such solutions have received little by way of investments and funding support. For example in 2015, agriculture, forestry and land-use received just 3 per cent of global climate change finance.

Appearing at the youth summit, the global Youth4Nature network told how it mobilises young people to advocate for nature-based solutions. Their strategy has included collecting and sharing youth stories in natural resources management in more than 35 countries.

Youth ‘will be watching’ their leaders

When it comes to climate change, young people have specific demands that must be acknowledged - and offer solutions that other generations cannot.

But globally there is a lack of youth representation in politics, and by extension, they are largely absent from climate change decision-making.

Some youth summit participants reportedly questioned whether it achieved its aims - including the value of some workshops, why celebrities were involved and whether anything tangible was produced.

Certainly, there was little evidence that world leaders at the climate summit were listening to the demands of young people. This was reflected in the failure of the world’s biggest-polluting countries to offer credible emissions reduction commitments.

But the youth summit went some way to granting young people space and visibility in the formal decision-making process.

Pressure from young people for climate action will not subside. Thunberg said it best when she warned world leaders that youth “will be watching you”.

“The eyes of all future generations are upon you,” she said. “If you choose to fail us, I say we will never forgive you”.

(Danilo Ignacio de Urzedo is PhD candidate, University of Sydney) 
 
(This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-will-never-forgive-you-youth-is-not-wasted-on-the-young-who-fight-for-climate-justice-123985">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp;

By Danilo Ignacio de Urzedo Last week’s United Nations climate summit may go down in history - but not for the reasons intended. It was not the tipping point for action on global warming that organisers hoped it would be.

By Danilo Ignacio de Urzedo Last week’s United Nations climate summit may go down in history - but not for the reasons intended. It was not the tipping point for action on global warming that organisers hoped it would be. It will instead probably be remembered for the powerful address by Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg, who castigated world leaders on behalf of the generation set to bear the brunt of inaction. Young people are not sitting back and waiting for older generations to act on the climate crisis. Days before the summit, school students led a climate strike attended by millions around the world. And at the first-ever UN youth climate summit, more than 500 young people from 60 countries, including myself, explored how to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement. This group of activists, innovators, entrepreneurs, and change-makers aged between 18 and 30 showcased potential solutions and put global political leaders on notice: they must fight off the climate crisis at the scale and pace required. Youth voices matter Youth aged 15 to 24 years represent 16 per cent of the world population and will reach 1.3 billion people by 2030. Obviously the action (or otherwise) of today’s decision-makers on climate change and other environmental threats will affect generations to come - a principle known as intergenerational equity. Millions of young people around the world are already affected by climate change. Speaking at the youth summit, Fijian climate action advocate Komal Kumar said her nation was at the frontline of a crisis and worldwide, young people were “living in constant fear and climate anxiety … fearing the future”. “Stop hindering the work [towards a sustainable future] for short term profits. Engage young people in the design of adaptation plans,” she said. “We will hold you accountable. And if you do not remember, we will mobilise to vote you out.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres attended the event and his deputy Amina Mohammed took part in a “town hall” with the attendees, alongside senior representatives from government and civil society. Young people are not sitting idly by Technological solutions presented by youth summit participants included 3D printing using plastic waste, data storage in plant DNA, a weather app for farmers and an accountability platform for sustainable fashion. Participants learnt how to amplify their voices using Instagram and how to create engaging videos with their mobile phones. An art workshop taught youth how creativity can help solve the climate emergency, and a networking session showed ways that youth leaders to stay connected and support each other. Elsewhere, you don’t have to look far to see examples of young climate warriors, including in the developing world. Programmes funded by the UN development program include in Kazakhstan where youth are helping implement an energy efficiency project in schools, and in Namibia where young people are being trained as tour guides in national parks and nature reserves. In Nepal, young people cultivate wild Himalayan cherry trees as a natural solution to land degradation. Harness the power of nature Kenyan environmental activist Wanjuhi Njoroge told the youth summit of her nation’s progress in restoring the country’s forest cover. Nature-based solutions to the climate crisis - such as conserving and restoring forests, grasslands and wetlands - were a key focus at the summit. Efforts to meet the Paris climate goals often focus on cutting fossil fuel use. But nature has a huge ability to store carbon as plants grow. Avoiding deforestation keeps this carbon from entering the atmosphere. Thunberg and British writer George Monbiot released a film ahead on the New York summit calling on world leaders protect, restore and fund natural climate solutions. To date, such solutions have received little by way of investments and funding support. For example in 2015, agriculture, forestry and land-use received just 3 per cent of global climate change finance. Appearing at the youth summit, the global Youth4Nature network told how it mobilises young people to advocate for nature-based solutions. Their strategy has included collecting and sharing youth stories in natural resources management in more than 35 countries. Youth ‘will be watching’ their leaders When it comes to climate change, young people have specific demands that must be acknowledged - and offer solutions that other generations cannot. But globally there is a lack of youth representation in politics, and by extension, they are largely absent from climate change decision-making. Some youth summit participants reportedly questioned whether it achieved its aims - including the value of some workshops, why celebrities were involved and whether anything tangible was produced. Certainly, there was little evidence that world leaders at the climate summit were listening to the demands of young people. This was reflected in the failure of the world’s biggest-polluting countries to offer credible emissions reduction commitments. But the youth summit went some way to granting young people space and visibility in the formal decision-making process. Pressure from young people for climate action will not subside. Thunberg said it best when she warned world leaders that youth “will be watching you”. “The eyes of all future generations are upon you,” she said. “If you choose to fail us, I say we will never forgive you”. (Danilo Ignacio de Urzedo is PhD candidate, University of Sydney) (This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

‘We will never forgive you’: Youth is not wasted on the young who fight for climate justice

Best of WION Global Summit: Climate Change

Know the best of conversations with experts on Climate Change, state of Indian Economy took place in WION Global Summit: U.S Edition

Best of WION Global Summit: U.S Edition

Teen activist <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/climate-movement-now-too-loud-to-handle-for-trump-and-critics-says-greta-thunberg-252545">Greta Thunberg</a> urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other world leaders Friday to do more for the environment as she led half a million protesters in Montreal as part of a global wave of "climate strikes."

The 16-year-old Swede met privately with Trudeau but later told a news conference with local indigenous leaders that he was "not doing enough" to curb greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.

"My message to all the politicians around the world is the same. Just listen and act on the current best available science," she said.

Thunberg generated headlines around the world earlier this week with her viral so-called "How Dare You?" speech at the UN climate summit, accusing world leaders of betraying her generation.

"You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words," she thundered, visibly angry and close to tears.

The teen has inspired millions of youngsters, drawn to her cause by her passion and a mature, committed rhetorical style -- articulated in near-perfect English -- that belies her young age.

"It's incredible to be united in such a way for a common cause," she told the cheering Montreal crowd, adding: "If the people in power won't take their responsibility, then we will."

"This week, world leaders from all around the world gathered in New York. They disappointed us once again with their empty words and insufficient plans," she went on.

"It should not be up to us, but somebody needs to do it. This is an emergency, and we will not be bystanders. We are the change and change is coming."

Trudeau and other Canadian party leaders took a breather from a tight election campaign <a href="https://www.wionews.com/search?q=%09Canada%27s+Trudeau+to+march+with+climate+activist+Greta+Thunberg">to join Thunberg at the Montreal rally</a> -- along with around 500,000 protesters, according to organisers.

Walking with his wife and children, Trudeau mingled with a boisterous crowd that brandished placards reading "Respect Mother Earth" and &nbsp;"Make America Greta Again" -- a riff on a campaign slogan popularised by US president and noted climate sceptic Donald Trump.

Two billion trees

One man was tackled by security when he appeared to lunge at the prime minister, while 13-year-old Annabelle Vellend broke out in tears when she spotted Thunberg marching, telling AFP: "I really believe in Greta's movement."

"She is doing amazing things and it's great that she's able to press politicians to act on climate change, during an election," she said.

In his first term, Trudeau cast himself as a champion in the fight against global warming, but his green image was tarnished by his nationalization of an oil pipeline to salvage the construction project after years of delay.

The Prime Minister said <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/a-nobel-for-swedens-greta-thunberg-a-tough-decision-for-prize-committee-252010">after meeting Thunberg</a> and pledging to fund the planting of two billion trees: "I agree with her entirely. We need to do more."

Earlier this week, the Liberal leader promised Canada would reach net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, joining 66 other countries that have already signed onto the pledge.

Last Friday, more than six million youths -- and adults -- rallied in "climate strikes" around the world.

Turnout at events a week on was smaller, but still vocal. In Italy, hundreds of thousands of young people took to the streets while an estimated 40,000 protested outside New Zealand's parliament, and in Switzerland police intervened when protestors tried to block a major thoroughfare.

"Don't take away my planet, you jerks!" yelled demonstrators who surged through the streets of Madrid singing raucously along to a brass band, and dancing.

Record CO2 emissions

Climate is "being talked about every day, everywhere, by everyone," commented Maria Paralejo, 22.

Her friend Alicia Portela told AFP it wasn't just up to politicians to act. "We have to stop using so much plastic, cut back on eating meat and reuse clothes instead of buying new ones."

Back at the giant Montreal march made up mostly of children and a few adults, Alexanne Lessard stood out in her tree costume.

"I'm here for our future, to show our government that we the majority want to do something and that they can take big steps that will have an impact," she said.

The world's top scientists believe the long-term average temperature rise must be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels to prevent runaway warming and catastrophic longer-term damage.

But the level of emissions being released into the atmosphere has risen to an all-time high, triggering global weather hazards from heat waves to intense hurricanes and raging wildfires.

The U.N. estimates that the world needs to increase its current efforts five-fold to contain climate change. <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/climate-striker-greta-thunberg-wins-right-livelihood-award-251941">The U.N. summit</a> in New York sought to reinvigorate the faltering Paris agreement on climate change.

Teen activist Greta Thunberg urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other world leaders Friday to do more for the environment as she led half a million protesters in Montreal as part of a global wave of "climate strikes.

Teen activist Greta Thunberg urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other world leaders Friday to do more for the environment as she led half a million protesters in Montreal as part of a global wave of "climate strikes." The 16-year-old Swede met privately with Trudeau but later told a news conference with local indigenous leaders that he was "not doing enough" to curb greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. "My message to all the politicians around the world is the same. Just listen and act on the current best available science," she said. Thunberg generated headlines around the world earlier this week with her viral so-called "How Dare You?" speech at the UN climate summit, accusing world leaders of betraying her generation. "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words," she thundered, visibly angry and close to tears. The teen has inspired millions of youngsters, drawn to her cause by her passion and a mature, committed rhetorical style -- articulated in near-perfect English -- that belies her young age. "It's incredible to be united in such a way for a common cause," she told the cheering Montreal crowd, adding: "If the people in power won't take their responsibility, then we will." "This week, world leaders from all around the world gathered in New York. They disappointed us once again with their empty words and insufficient plans," she went on. "It should not be up to us, but somebody needs to do it. This is an emergency, and we will not be bystanders. We are the change and change is coming." Trudeau and other Canadian party leaders took a breather from a tight election campaign to join Thunberg at the Montreal rally -- along with around 500,000 protesters, according to organisers. Walking with his wife and children, Trudeau mingled with a boisterous crowd that brandished placards reading "Respect Mother Earth" and "Make America Greta Again" -- a riff on a campaign slogan popularised by US president and noted climate sceptic Donald Trump. Two billion trees One man was tackled by security when he appeared to lunge at the prime minister, while 13-year-old Annabelle Vellend broke out in tears when she spotted Thunberg marching, telling AFP: "I really believe in Greta's movement." "She is doing amazing things and it's great that she's able to press politicians to act on climate change, during an election," she said. In his first term, Trudeau cast himself as a champion in the fight against global warming, but his green image was tarnished by his nationalization of an oil pipeline to salvage the construction project after years of delay. The Prime Minister said after meeting Thunberg and pledging to fund the planting of two billion trees: "I agree with her entirely. We need to do more." Earlier this week, the Liberal leader promised Canada would reach net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, joining 66 other countries that have already signed onto the pledge. Last Friday, more than six million youths -- and adults -- rallied in "climate strikes" around the world. Turnout at events a week on was smaller, but still vocal. In Italy, hundreds of thousands of young people took to the streets while an estimated 40,000 protested outside New Zealand's parliament, and in Switzerland police intervened when protestors tried to block a major thoroughfare. "Don't take away my planet, you jerks!" yelled demonstrators who surged through the streets of Madrid singing raucously along to a brass band, and dancing. Record CO2 emissions Climate is "being talked about every day, everywhere, by everyone," commented Maria Paralejo, 22. Her friend Alicia Portela told AFP it wasn't just up to politicians to act. "We have to stop using so much plastic, cut back on eating meat and reuse clothes instead of buying new ones." Back at the giant Montreal march made up mostly of children and a few adults, Alexanne Lessard stood out in her tree costume. "I'm here for our future, to show our government that we the majority want to do something and that they can take big steps that will have an impact," she said. The world's top scientists believe the long-term average temperature rise must be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels to prevent runaway warming and catastrophic longer-term damage. But the level of emissions being released into the atmosphere has risen to an all-time high, triggering global weather hazards from heat waves to intense hurricanes and raging wildfires. The U.N. estimates that the world needs to increase its current efforts five-fold to contain climate change. The U.N. summit in New York sought to reinvigorate the faltering Paris agreement on climate change.

Greta Thunberg marches in Montreal for global climate protests

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that that terrorism is a challenge not for any one country, but for the entire world.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that we believe that terrorism is not a challenge for any country, but all countries and of mankind as a whole. So for the sake of humanity, all the world has to unite against terror.

Speaking at the 74th UNGA session, PM Modi recounted India's contribution towards world peace and said that India is the country that has made the biggest sacrifice at the United Nations peacekeeping missions.&nbsp;

Mentioning the non-violence, the founding principle of Gandhian philosophy, PM Modi said that we belong to the country that has given the world- Buddha, not Yuddh (war).

"Swami Vivekananda Ji had given a message to the world from Chicago during the World Parliament of Religion about 125 years ago. The world's largest democracy still has the same message for the global community - harmony and peace," he added.

The last six days at United Nations General Assembly have been filled with action. It all began with the mega 'Howdy, Modi' event in Houston with US President Donald Trump joining the Indian prime minister.

Prime Minister Modi has held several bilateral and multilateral talks with world leaders since then. PM Modi met with business leaders to highlight India's growth story.

PM Modi's address tonight was his first after taking charge as India's prime minister for the second time in May this year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that that terrorism is a challenge not for any one country, but for the entire world. Addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that we believe that terrorism is not a challenge for any country, but all countries and of mankind as a whole.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that that terrorism is a challenge not for any one country, but for the entire world. Addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that we believe that terrorism is not a challenge for any country, but all countries and of mankind as a whole. So for the sake of humanity, all the world has to unite against terror. Speaking at the 74th UNGA session, PM Modi recounted India's contribution towards world peace and said that India is the country that has made the biggest sacrifice at the United Nations peacekeeping missions. Mentioning the non-violence, the founding principle of Gandhian philosophy, PM Modi said that we belong to the country that has given the world- Buddha, not Yuddh (war). "Swami Vivekananda Ji had given a message to the world from Chicago during the World Parliament of Religion about 125 years ago. The world's largest democracy still has the same message for the global community - harmony and peace," he added. The last six days at United Nations General Assembly have been filled with action. It all began with the mega 'Howdy, Modi' event in Houston with US President Donald Trump joining the Indian prime minister. Prime Minister Modi has held several bilateral and multilateral talks with world leaders since then. PM Modi met with business leaders to highlight India's growth story. PM Modi's address tonight was his first after taking charge as India's prime minister for the second time in May this year.

Terrorism is the biggest global challenge, for humanity's sake, let's unite against terrorism', says PM Narendra Modi at UNGA

South Africa has lauded India's role in climate solutions and said the relationship between the two countries is strengthening. Speaking to our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal in New York,&nbsp;South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said that&nbsp;India is&nbsp;certainly beginning to lead the way in key solutions to world problems. He also called Mahatma Gandhi&nbsp;a South African hero.

Below is the full transcript of the conversation

WION: What is the status of the ties between India and South Africa?

Naledi Pandor: The ties are extremely strong. India and South Africa are old friends, we have a lot&nbsp;of South Africans whose families originated in India. Their&nbsp;roots are still in India.

India also supported South Africa in the struggle for freedom. India has been a good friend of South Africa during the freedom [struggle], we continued to be partners in BRICS family and the relations are strengthening every year.&nbsp;

Watch:&nbsp;WION exclusively speaks to South Africa's foreign Minister Naledi Pandor

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WION:&nbsp;India is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. How do you&nbsp;see it?

Naledi Pandor:&nbsp;I think&nbsp;that it is very important for countries to&nbsp;commemorate leaders who have founded our democracies but who have also made an important contribution to the&nbsp;world political philosophy. Mahatma Gandhi, with his wonderful attention to non-violent&nbsp;struggle&nbsp;made a deep impression on our leaders like Nelson Mandela and in fact was a precursor to the concept of mass mobilisation which influenced much of the struggle for freedom in South Africa. So Mahatma&nbsp;stands for us as a great example and is&nbsp;remembered in South Africa as a hero of South Africa as much as he is considered a Mahatma in India.

&nbsp;

WION: India has been focusing on providing a solution to the climate change issue... how do you see India's role?

Naledi Pandor:&nbsp;Well, I think that India is&nbsp;certainly beginning to lead the way in showing what some solutions are and the speech that was made by <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/at-unga-today-pm-modi-to-lead-from-the-front-252332">Prime Minister Modi</a> during the&nbsp;Climate Change Summit in the UN was a very important speech where he reported on the steps being taken by the government of India in order to address what is a massive global challenge. Solar energy, renewable sources of energy of all kinds, are very important. We are using solar,&nbsp;renewable, as wells as biomass as new sources of energy and of course India is renowned in advances in innovation, so we look forward to our collaboration with India to build even more solutions to climate change challenges that confront us. India has agriculture as one of the core basis of its economy, and similarly, South Africa relies on agriculture. We have to look at land recovery, new technology and&nbsp;at how to best use our water resources in order to respond to the challenges of climate change.&nbsp;

WION: You met with BRICS foreign ministers. What was the focus?

Naledi Pandor:&nbsp;Well, I think that BRICS is an extremely important grouping because&nbsp;it holds up the values of cooperation and of multilateralism. For me, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/brics-pushes-for-early-adoption-of-comprehensive-convention-on-international-terrorism-252288">BRICS</a> is a progressive global forum of countries that have among the largest populations in the region and that play a very important role both in regional affairs as well as world affairs. I believe the work that is being done in BRICS&nbsp;is going to&nbsp;illustrate to the world the value of partnership and collaboration. Our deliberations as foreign ministers&nbsp;went very well today. We got a report from Brazil, which is the current BRICS chair and we will have the summit in November. We also got the&nbsp;indication from Russia, who will assume the chair in 2020 as to what their&nbsp;plans and thinking are for their year of chairing the BRICS family.

WION:&nbsp; What is your view on the Indo-Pacific concept?

Naledi Pandor:&nbsp;&nbsp;We are members of IORA which is the Indian Ocean Rim Association. South Africa has been playing the leadership role there, this brings many nations together and I think that whatever we do with the oceans, we need to understand that we are drawing together many nations because I think oceans are a shared resource and they don't&nbsp;belong to a particular country.&nbsp;Therefore, whatever we do, any alliance that we build&nbsp;must understand these needs to be inclusive alliances who are all surrounded by the ocean benefit from it.

South Africa has lauded India's role in climate solutions and said the relationship between the two countries is strengthening. Speaking to our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal in New York, South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said that India is certainly beginning to lead the way in key solutions to world problems.

South Africa has lauded India's role in climate solutions and said the relationship between the two countries is strengthening. Speaking to our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal in New York, South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said that India is certainly beginning to lead the way in key solutions to world problems. He also called Mahatma Gandhi a South African hero. Below is the full transcript of the conversation WION: What is the status of the ties between India and South Africa? Naledi Pandor: The ties are extremely strong. India and South Africa are old friends, we have a lot of South Africans whose families originated in India. Their roots are still in India. India also supported South Africa in the struggle for freedom. India has been a good friend of South Africa during the freedom [struggle], we continued to be partners in BRICS family and the relations are strengthening every year. Watch: WION exclusively speaks to South Africa's foreign Minister Naledi Pandor WION: India is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. How do you see it? Naledi Pandor: I think that it is very important for countries to commemorate leaders who have founded our democracies but who have also made an important contribution to the world political philosophy. Mahatma Gandhi, with his wonderful attention to non-violent struggle made a deep impression on our leaders like Nelson Mandela and in fact was a precursor to the concept of mass mobilisation which influenced much of the struggle for freedom in South Africa. So Mahatma stands for us as a great example and is remembered in South Africa as a hero of South Africa as much as he is considered a Mahatma in India. WION: India has been focusing on providing a solution to the climate change issue... how do you see India's role? Naledi Pandor: Well, I think that India is certainly beginning to lead the way in showing what some solutions are and the speech that was made by Prime Minister Modi during the Climate Change Summit in the UN was a very important speech where he reported on the steps being taken by the government of India in order to address what is a massive global challenge. Solar energy, renewable sources of energy of all kinds, are very important. We are using solar, renewable, as wells as biomass as new sources of energy and of course India is renowned in advances in innovation, so we look forward to our collaboration with India to build even more solutions to climate change challenges that confront us. India has agriculture as one of the core basis of its economy, and similarly, South Africa relies on agriculture. We have to look at land recovery, new technology and at how to best use our water resources in order to respond to the challenges of climate change. WION: You met with BRICS foreign ministers. What was the focus? Naledi Pandor: Well, I think that BRICS is an extremely important grouping because it holds up the values of cooperation and of multilateralism. For me, BRICS is a progressive global forum of countries that have among the largest populations in the region and that play a very important role both in regional affairs as well as world affairs. I believe the work that is being done in BRICS is going to illustrate to the world the value of partnership and collaboration. Our deliberations as foreign ministers went very well today. We got a report from Brazil, which is the current BRICS chair and we will have the summit in November. We also got the indication from Russia, who will assume the chair in 2020 as to what their plans and thinking are for their year of chairing the BRICS family. WION: What is your view on the Indo-Pacific concept? Naledi Pandor: We are members of IORA which is the Indian Ocean Rim Association. South Africa has been playing the leadership role there, this brings many nations together and I think that whatever we do with the oceans, we need to understand that we are drawing together many nations because I think oceans are a shared resource and they don't belong to a particular country. Therefore, whatever we do, any alliance that we build must understand these needs to be inclusive alliances who are all surrounded by the ocean benefit from it.

'India showing way on climate change', says South African Foreign Minister; calls Gandhi a hero

In an exclusive conversation with WION, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and children's rights activist Kailash Satyarthi said that India is making headway and assuming leadership in the matter of climate change.&nbsp;

"Indians have started understanding the value of protection of the climate. We are extremely happy that the things are moving forward," he added.&nbsp;

Satyarthi added that the United Nations must focus on the "children of the world". His comments came on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.&nbsp;

Watch: WION speaks to Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi

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"We have to reaffirm our commitment and investment in children so that we can put an end to child slavery, child trafficking, child labour and make sure that every child is safe, free and educated which requires&nbsp;a lot of political will," Satyarthi told WION.&nbsp;

The Nobel Peace Prize recipient said that the leaders of the world need to be "honest, bold, responsible and compassionate toward the children in the world".&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/pm-narendra-modi-inaugurates-gandhi-solar-park-at-un-headquarters-launches-commemorative-postage-stamp-251853">Prime Minister Narendra Modi</a>&nbsp;is currently on a week-long visit to the United States on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

His first engagement at the United Nations was at UN Climate Action Summit during which he called for a global movement to bring about change saying "<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/time-for-talks-is-over-world-needs-to-act-now-pm-modi-at-un-climate-change-summit-251563">time for talk is over</a>, the world needs to act now".

"What is needed is a comprehensive approach that covers education, lifestyle, development strategy. We need global people's movement to bring about change," the prime minister told the UN climate change summit.

"We believe that an ounce of practice is worth more than a ton of preaching," PM Modi asserted.

Talking about India's climate change policies, PM Modi said,&nbsp;"Respect for nature is part of the tradition and need and not greed."

In an exclusive conversation with WION, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and children's rights activist Kailash Satyarthi said that India is making headway and assuming leadership in the matter of climate change.

In an exclusive conversation with WION, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and children's rights activist Kailash Satyarthi said that India is making headway and assuming leadership in the matter of climate change. "Indians have started understanding the value of protection of the climate. We are extremely happy that the things are moving forward," he added. Satyarthi added that the United Nations must focus on the "children of the world". His comments came on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Watch: WION speaks to Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi × "We have to reaffirm our commitment and investment in children so that we can put an end to child slavery, child trafficking, child labour and make sure that every child is safe, free and educated which requires a lot of political will," Satyarthi told WION. The Nobel Peace Prize recipient said that the leaders of the world need to be "honest, bold, responsible and compassionate toward the children in the world". Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently on a week-long visit to the United States on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). His first engagement at the United Nations was at UN Climate Action Summit during which he called for a global movement to bring about change saying "time for talk is over, the world needs to act now". "What is needed is a comprehensive approach that covers education, lifestyle, development strategy. We need global people's movement to bring about change," the prime minister told the UN climate change summit. "We believe that an ounce of practice is worth more than a ton of preaching," PM Modi asserted. Talking about India's climate change policies, PM Modi said, "Respect for nature is part of the tradition and need and not greed."

India making headway, assuming leadership on climate change: Kailash Satyarthi tells WION

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar Details Indian Government's Road-map To Tackle Climate Change.

Gravitas US edition: India's environment minister explains measures to tackle climate change | WION Exclusive

Palki Discusses The Involvement Of Youngsters In Climate Protests With Teenage Climate Activist Xiye Bastida & Dr Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum Of W.H.O.

Gravitas U.S. Edition: Climate Change & Youth Movement: A Discussion - (Part 3)

Gravitas U.S. Edition: Climate Change & Youth Movement: A Discussion - (Part 1)

Gravitas U.S. Edition: Climate Change & Youth Movement: A Discussion - (Part 2)

Teenage Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg who took the internet by storm with her stirring UN Climate Change Summit speech has now got support from actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas who thanked her for the "much-needed punch in the face". 
 
"Thank you, Greta Thunberg, for giving us the much-needed punch in the face, for bringing your generation together and showing us that we need to know better, do more to save what is most critical," the 37-year old tweeted. 
 
She ended her note by saying, "At the end of the day, we only have this one planet."

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Thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@gretathunberg</a> for giving us the much needed punch in the face, for bringing your generation together and showing us that we need to know better, do more to save what is most critical. At the end of the day, we only have this one planet. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HowDareYou?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HowDareYou</a> <a href="https://t.co/IiQ5NUavpD">https://t.co/IiQ5NUavpD</a>
— PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) <a href="https://twitter.com/priyankachopra/status/1176387459656994817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/greta-thunberg-how-one-school-girls-climate-change-campaign-recruited-millions-249747">Greta</a>, become the global face of the growing youth movement against climate inaction and is on a year off from her studies to spread awareness about climate change. The 16-year old on Monday began her speech by telling her audience amusingly, "My message is that we will be watching you." 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/how-dare-you-greta-thunberg-asks-world-leaders-at-un-251559">In her speech, the activist </a>also addressed the pressing issue of the dangerous global heating across the world, saying, "I shouldn`t be here. I should have been back at school, on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?" 
"For more than 30 years, the signs have been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you are doing enough when the politics and the solution needed are still nowhere in sight," she added. 
 
Thunberg has been protesting outside the Swedish Parliament every Friday since August 2018 against inaction over climate change. The Climate Change summit was hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to give a boost to the 2015 Paris Agreement and address the global climate emergency.&nbsp;

Teenage Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg who took the internet by storm with her stirring UN Climate Change Summit speech has now got support from actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas who thanked her for the "much-needed punch in the face".

Teenage Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg who took the internet by storm with her stirring UN Climate Change Summit speech has now got support from actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas who thanked her for the "much-needed punch in the face". "Thank you, Greta Thunberg, for giving us the much-needed punch in the face, for bringing your generation together and showing us that we need to know better, do more to save what is most critical," the 37-year old tweeted. She ended her note by saying, "At the end of the day, we only have this one planet." Thank you @gretathunberg for giving us the much needed punch in the face, for bringing your generation together and showing us that we need to know better, do more to save what is most critical. At the end of the day, we only have this one planet. #HowDareYou https://t.co/IiQ5NUavpD — PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) September 24, 2019 × Greta, become the global face of the growing youth movement against climate inaction and is on a year off from her studies to spread awareness about climate change. The 16-year old on Monday began her speech by telling her audience amusingly, "My message is that we will be watching you." In her speech, the activist also addressed the pressing issue of the dangerous global heating across the world, saying, "I shouldn`t be here. I should have been back at school, on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?" "For more than 30 years, the signs have been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you are doing enough when the politics and the solution needed are still nowhere in sight," she added. Thunberg has been protesting outside the Swedish Parliament every Friday since August 2018 against inaction over climate change. The Climate Change summit was hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to give a boost to the 2015 Paris Agreement and address the global climate emergency.

Thank you Greta for much needed punch in the face: Priyanka Chopra

&nbsp;Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg was named on Wednesday as one of four winners of the 2019 Right Livelihood Award, known as Sweden's alternative Nobel Prize.

Thunberg won the award "for inspiring and amplifying political demands for urgent climate action reflecting scientific facts," the Right Livelihood Foundation said in a statement.

Thunberg, 16, denounced world leaders on Monday for failing to tackle climate change in a speech at the start of a climate summit at the United Nations in New York.

She started solitary weekly protests outside the Swedish parliament a year ago. Inspired by her, millions of young people poured onto streets around the world last Friday to demand governments attending the summit take emergency action.

Thunberg shares the award with Brazilian indigenous leader Davi Kopenawa of the Yanomami people, Chinese women's rights lawyer Guo Jianmei and Western Sahara human rights defender Aminatou Haidar.

"With the 2019 Right Livelihood Award, we honour four practical visionaries whose leadership has empowered millions of people to defend their inalienable rights and to strive for a liveable future for all on planet Earth," the foundation said in the statement.

The four laureates will receive a cash award of 1 million Swedish crowns ($103,000) each.

Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg was named on Wednesday as one of four winners of the 2019 Right Livelihood Award, known as Sweden's alternative Nobel Prize.

Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg was named on Wednesday as one of four winners of the 2019 Right Livelihood Award, known as Sweden's alternative Nobel Prize. Thunberg won the award "for inspiring and amplifying political demands for urgent climate action reflecting scientific facts," the Right Livelihood Foundation said in a statement. Thunberg, 16, denounced world leaders on Monday for failing to tackle climate change in a speech at the start of a climate summit at the United Nations in New York. She started solitary weekly protests outside the Swedish parliament a year ago. Inspired by her, millions of young people poured onto streets around the world last Friday to demand governments attending the summit take emergency action. Thunberg shares the award with Brazilian indigenous leader Davi Kopenawa of the Yanomami people, Chinese women's rights lawyer Guo Jianmei and Western Sahara human rights defender Aminatou Haidar. "With the 2019 Right Livelihood Award, we honour four practical visionaries whose leadership has empowered millions of people to defend their inalienable rights and to strive for a liveable future for all on planet Earth," the foundation said in the statement. The four laureates will receive a cash award of 1 million Swedish crowns ($103,000) each.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg wins 'alternative Nobel Prize'

The session explores ways in which governments, businesses, and NGOs can address the challenge of climate change and find reliable solutions.

Global Summit - Climate Change: Stewarding a common goal

Swedish teenage climate activist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/climate-striker-greta-thunberg-wins-right-livelihood-award-251941">Greta&nbsp;Thunberg</a> shot back at US&nbsp;President Donald Trump's attempt to mock her on Twitter by changing her profile description on the website&nbsp;to reflect Trump's taunting remark.

Late on Monday Trump retweeted a clip of the 16-year-old's speech to a United Nations climate summit in which she angrily denounced world leaders for failing to tackle climate change by demanding: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/how-dare-you-greta-thunberg-asks-world-leaders-at-un-251559">"How dare you?"</a>

Trump, 73, commented, "She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!"

By Tuesday Thunberg shot back, changing her Twitter biography to, "A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future."

A Reuters video of Thunberg glaring at Trump as he entered the United Nations in New York on Monday went viral on social media. Trump has questioned climate science and has challenged every major US&nbsp;regulation aimed at combating climate change.

Thunberg started missing school on Fridays a year ago to protest for climate action outside the Swedish parliament, inspiring millions of children and sparking a global climate strike movement known as Fridays for Future.

On Tuesday, the hashtags #GretaThunbergOutdidTrump and #BeBest were trending in the United States. 'Be Best'&nbsp;is Melania Trump's campaign against cyber bullying.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/greta-thunberg-the-worlds-youthful-climate-conscience-250812">Thunberg</a> is in the running for the Nobel Peace Prize, one of the few people whose nomination has become known before the awards ceremony. She is the bookmakers' favorite to win the prize next month.

Trump has made the case that he deserves to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and commented again on Monday when asked about the topic.

"I think I'm going to get a Nobel Prize for a lot of things, if they gave it out fairly, which they don't," Trump said.

Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg shot back at US President Donald Trump's attempt to mock her on Twitter by changing her profile description on the website to reflect Trump's taunting remark.

Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg shot back at US President Donald Trump's attempt to mock her on Twitter by changing her profile description on the website to reflect Trump's taunting remark. Late on Monday Trump retweeted a clip of the 16-year-old's speech to a United Nations climate summit in which she angrily denounced world leaders for failing to tackle climate change by demanding: "How dare you?" Trump, 73, commented, "She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!" By Tuesday Thunberg shot back, changing her Twitter biography to, "A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future." A Reuters video of Thunberg glaring at Trump as he entered the United Nations in New York on Monday went viral on social media. Trump has questioned climate science and has challenged every major US regulation aimed at combating climate change. Thunberg started missing school on Fridays a year ago to protest for climate action outside the Swedish parliament, inspiring millions of children and sparking a global climate strike movement known as Fridays for Future. On Tuesday, the hashtags #GretaThunbergOutdidTrump and #BeBest were trending in the United States. 'Be Best' is Melania Trump's campaign against cyber bullying. Thunberg is in the running for the Nobel Peace Prize, one of the few people whose nomination has become known before the awards ceremony. She is the bookmakers' favorite to win the prize next month. Trump has made the case that he deserves to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and commented again on Monday when asked about the topic. "I think I'm going to get a Nobel Prize for a lot of things, if they gave it out fairly, which they don't," Trump said.

Greta takes on Trump's Twitter taunt, changes profile description to 'very happy young girl'

Swedish climate activist <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/how-dare-you-greta-thunberg-asks-world-leaders-at-un-251559">Greta Thunberg</a> on Wednesday won the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes called the "alternative Nobel Prize", the jury for the Swedish Human Rights Prize said.

Thunberg was honoured "for inspiring and amplifying political demands for urgent climate action reflecting scientific facts," the Right Livelihood Foundation said in a statement.

"Her resolve to not put up with the looming climate disaster has inspired millions of peers to also raise their voices and demand immediate climate action," it added.

Thunberg's global climate movement "Fridays for Future" began in August 2018 when she started sitting alone outside Sweden's parliament with her now-iconic sign reading "school strike for the climate".&nbsp;

Watch Video: Greta Thunberg steals the show at UN Climate Summit

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The message has struck a chord with youth&nbsp;around the world. Last Friday, an estimated four million-plus people took to the streets in over 150 countries to join the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/greta-thunberg-to-us-congress-on-climate-change-wake-up-250500">"Global Climate Strike"</a> protest, demanding action from politicians against climate disaster.

This year's Right Livelihood Award also honours three others, including Sahrawi human rights activist Aminatou Haidar "for her steadfast non-violent action, despite imprisonment and torture, in pursuit of justice and self-determination for the people of Western Sahara".

Lawyer Guo Jianmei received the award for her "pioneering and persistent work" for women's rights in China.

The Brazilian Hutukara Yanomami Association and its leader Davi Kopenawa were also honoured for their "courageous determination to protect the forests and biodiversity of the Amazon and the lands and culture of its indigenous peoples."&nbsp;

The Right Livelihood Award was created in 1980 by Swedish-German philatelist Jakob von Uexkull after the Nobel Foundation behind the Nobel Prizes refused to create awards honouring efforts in the fields of the environment and international development.

The award consists of a cash prize of $103,000 for each laureate, meant to support the recipient's work.&nbsp;

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on Wednesday won the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes called the "alternative Nobel Prize", the jury for the Swedish Human Rights Prize said.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on Wednesday won the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes called the "alternative Nobel Prize", the jury for the Swedish Human Rights Prize said. Thunberg was honoured "for inspiring and amplifying political demands for urgent climate action reflecting scientific facts," the Right Livelihood Foundation said in a statement. "Her resolve to not put up with the looming climate disaster has inspired millions of peers to also raise their voices and demand immediate climate action," it added. Thunberg's global climate movement "Fridays for Future" began in August 2018 when she started sitting alone outside Sweden's parliament with her now-iconic sign reading "school strike for the climate". Watch Video: Greta Thunberg steals the show at UN Climate Summit The message has struck a chord with youth around the world. Last Friday, an estimated four million-plus people took to the streets in over 150 countries to join the "Global Climate Strike" protest, demanding action from politicians against climate disaster. This year's Right Livelihood Award also honours three others, including Sahrawi human rights activist Aminatou Haidar "for her steadfast non-violent action, despite imprisonment and torture, in pursuit of justice and self-determination for the people of Western Sahara". Lawyer Guo Jianmei received the award for her "pioneering and persistent work" for women's rights in China. The Brazilian Hutukara Yanomami Association and its leader Davi Kopenawa were also honoured for their "courageous determination to protect the forests and biodiversity of the Amazon and the lands and culture of its indigenous peoples." The Right Livelihood Award was created in 1980 by Swedish-German philatelist Jakob von Uexkull after the Nobel Foundation behind the Nobel Prizes refused to create awards honouring efforts in the fields of the environment and international development. The award consists of a cash prize of $103,000 for each laureate, meant to support the recipient's work.

Climate striker Greta Thunberg wins Right Livelihood Award

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ‘Aladdinising’ India since 2014. The global recognition that he has brought to this country has given many Indians a spring in their steps.&nbsp;

The world’s tallest statue, International Yoga Day, the hug-fest with leaders, are all reasons for this. Added to it are his many master-stroke surgical strikes within the country, the most recent one being abrogating Article 370. These purportedly manifest the decisiveness of his leadership, which many claim India has lacked since independence.

However, behind this sheen, there are challenges that are beginning to pile up. It is not the unemployment at 6.1 &nbsp;per cent, a 45-year-high, or economic growth at 5 per cent which is a 6-year-low that is digging a deep grave for the $5 trillion vision.&nbsp;

The Prime Minister and his Cabinet, need to do the math and appreciate the impact climate change can have on the economy.&nbsp;

Sure, there has been a sea change in Modi’s understanding of climate change — from claiming, “Climate has not changed. We have changed. Our habits have changed,...” to creating the International Solar Alliance with France and other countries to facilitate the implementation of solar energy projects, to now being recognised as a stalwart of environmental protection with the UN Environment Award.

But the question remains — Is India climate change-proof? The answer can be found in the following examples. Responding on February 15, 2019, to an unstarred question No. 310, Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare stated, “Climate change is projected to reduce the timely sown irrigated wheat yields by about 6 per cent in 2020 scenario from existing levels.”&nbsp;

When late and very late sown wheat also were taken into consideration, the impact is projected to be about 18 per cent in 2020 and 23 per cent in 2050.&nbsp;

Further, the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture has identified 151 out of 572 rural districts to be highly susceptible to climate change.&nbsp;

According to the 2018 Economic Survey of India, annual farm incomes could decrease 15-18 per cent because of Climate Change, which could go up to 20-25 per cent in unirrigated areas.&nbsp;

As per the National Initiative on Climate Change Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), “Since agriculture makes up roughly 15 per cent of India’s GDP, a 4.5 to 9.0 per cent negative impact on production implies a cost of climate change to be roughly at 1.5 per cent of GDP per year.”

But that is not all. According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), between 2013-17, water shortages caused 61 coal plants to be shut down.&nbsp;

This resulted in a loss of 17,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity. However, it is not only that Indian coal-fired thermal power plants have low Plant Load Factors and are polluting, but they are also huge guzzlers of water - beyond permissible limits in many cases, &nbsp;as per the IEEFA report. In fact, 87.8 per cent of industrial water consumption is by these plants.

Will India see a fight between different water consumers — from agriculture to industry and households? Given their dependence on water and the pollution generated from them, one would imagine that coal-fired thermal power plants would be seen less kindly.&nbsp;

However, from 2014-15 to 2018-19, gross electricity generation from coal has increased from 835,838 GWh to 1,021,997 GWh.&nbsp;

In the same period, solar increased from 4,600 GWh to 39,268 GWh. Though the growth in Solar seems to be high 88 per cent versus 18 per cent in coal, the overall contribution of solar to the electricity sector is just 2 per cent.&nbsp;

According to a research paper, India’s economy is 31 per cent smaller than it would have been in a climate change-free scenario.&nbsp;

Already, as per government figures, climate change is costing India $10 billion annually. By 2050 it can cost the country 2.8 per cent of her GDP.&nbsp;

A more recent study claims that climate change may shrink the Indian economy by 10 per cent. So the two main engines of growth in India - agriculture to feed and nourish Indians and electricity to power Indian industry are susceptible to climate change.&nbsp;

In such a scenario, whither the $5 trillion dream? One has not spoken about the fallout from the increase in disease incidence or from extreme weather events etc. So, what has India been doing to adapt to, and prevent climate change?&nbsp;

According to ‘Towards Climate Resilient Agriculture Through Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies’, a NICRA publication, 10 activities have been initiated at the village level.&nbsp;

These vary from building resilience in the soil to projects such as mini weather observatories in villages.&nbsp;

However, because of the unpredictability of climate change, one is not sure whether these efforts will be enough especially when the government is still investing in climate-destroying coal-fired thermal plants and busy cutting 1.09 crore trees in the last five years.&nbsp;

The government has incentivised e-vehicles, but this makes sense only if solar or wind is used to charge their batteries.&nbsp;

That being said, at an individual level there is enough reason to worry and many options available to help the country become climate change resilient.&nbsp;

For example, up to 45 litres per capita of water is wasted per day in India. This is also a waste of electricity because power is needed to pump the water.&nbsp;

Further, 40 per cent of food is wasted in India. This is not only a drain on resources but is a nutritional loss.

If one can reduce wastage, it has a ripple effect that goes far beyond the individual. A stimuli to the economy with a tax bonanza or getting the LIC to prop up failing PSU’s or taking Rs 1.76 lakh crore from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reserves may not be enough to catapult the economy into the big league if climate change is ignored.&nbsp; 
 
(This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/after-tax-boost-companies-need-to-stimulate-indian-economy-251704">original article</a>) 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp; 
 
&nbsp;

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ‘Aladdinising’ India since 2014. The global recognition that he has brought to this country has given many Indians a spring in their steps.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ‘Aladdinising’ India since 2014. The global recognition that he has brought to this country has given many Indians a spring in their steps. The world’s tallest statue, International Yoga Day, the hug-fest with leaders, are all reasons for this. Added to it are his many master-stroke surgical strikes within the country, the most recent one being abrogating Article 370. These purportedly manifest the decisiveness of his leadership, which many claim India has lacked since independence. However, behind this sheen, there are challenges that are beginning to pile up. It is not the unemployment at 6.1 per cent, a 45-year-high, or economic growth at 5 per cent which is a 6-year-low that is digging a deep grave for the $5 trillion vision. The Prime Minister and his Cabinet, need to do the math and appreciate the impact climate change can have on the economy. Sure, there has been a sea change in Modi’s understanding of climate change — from claiming, “Climate has not changed. We have changed. Our habits have changed,...” to creating the International Solar Alliance with France and other countries to facilitate the implementation of solar energy projects, to now being recognised as a stalwart of environmental protection with the UN Environment Award. But the question remains — Is India climate change-proof? The answer can be found in the following examples. Responding on February 15, 2019, to an unstarred question No. 310, Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare stated, “Climate change is projected to reduce the timely sown irrigated wheat yields by about 6 per cent in 2020 scenario from existing levels.” When late and very late sown wheat also were taken into consideration, the impact is projected to be about 18 per cent in 2020 and 23 per cent in 2050. Further, the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture has identified 151 out of 572 rural districts to be highly susceptible to climate change. According to the 2018 Economic Survey of India, annual farm incomes could decrease 15-18 per cent because of Climate Change, which could go up to 20-25 per cent in unirrigated areas. As per the National Initiative on Climate Change Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), “Since agriculture makes up roughly 15 per cent of India’s GDP, a 4.5 to 9.0 per cent negative impact on production implies a cost of climate change to be roughly at 1.5 per cent of GDP per year.” But that is not all. According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), between 2013-17, water shortages caused 61 coal plants to be shut down. This resulted in a loss of 17,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity. However, it is not only that Indian coal-fired thermal power plants have low Plant Load Factors and are polluting, but they are also huge guzzlers of water - beyond permissible limits in many cases, as per the IEEFA report. In fact, 87.8 per cent of industrial water consumption is by these plants. Will India see a fight between different water consumers — from agriculture to industry and households? Given their dependence on water and the pollution generated from them, one would imagine that coal-fired thermal power plants would be seen less kindly. However, from 2014-15 to 2018-19, gross electricity generation from coal has increased from 835,838 GWh to 1,021,997 GWh. In the same period, solar increased from 4,600 GWh to 39,268 GWh. Though the growth in Solar seems to be high 88 per cent versus 18 per cent in coal, the overall contribution of solar to the electricity sector is just 2 per cent. According to a research paper, India’s economy is 31 per cent smaller than it would have been in a climate change-free scenario. Already, as per government figures, climate change is costing India $10 billion annually. By 2050 it can cost the country 2.8 per cent of her GDP. A more recent study claims that climate change may shrink the Indian economy by 10 per cent. So the two main engines of growth in India - agriculture to feed and nourish Indians and electricity to power Indian industry are susceptible to climate change. In such a scenario, whither the $5 trillion dream? One has not spoken about the fallout from the increase in disease incidence or from extreme weather events etc. So, what has India been doing to adapt to, and prevent climate change? According to ‘Towards Climate Resilient Agriculture Through Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies’, a NICRA publication, 10 activities have been initiated at the village level. These vary from building resilience in the soil to projects such as mini weather observatories in villages. However, because of the unpredictability of climate change, one is not sure whether these efforts will be enough especially when the government is still investing in climate-destroying coal-fired thermal plants and busy cutting 1.09 crore trees in the last five years. The government has incentivised e-vehicles, but this makes sense only if solar or wind is used to charge their batteries. That being said, at an individual level there is enough reason to worry and many options available to help the country become climate change resilient. For example, up to 45 litres per capita of water is wasted per day in India. This is also a waste of electricity because power is needed to pump the water. Further, 40 per cent of food is wasted in India. This is not only a drain on resources but is a nutritional loss. If one can reduce wastage, it has a ripple effect that goes far beyond the individual. A stimuli to the economy with a tax bonanza or getting the LIC to prop up failing PSU’s or taking Rs 1.76 lakh crore from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reserves may not be enough to catapult the economy into the big league if climate change is ignored. (This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Climate change: PM Narendra Modi realises the danger

British Prime Minister Boris&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;on Monday&nbsp;called for greater global action to tackle <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-uk-ireland-declares-climate-emergency-217465">climate change</a> and biodiversity loss and announced a $ 1.25 Billion&nbsp;Fund to help save endangered animals like the Black Rhino, African Elephant, Snow Leopard and Sumatran tiger.

The 220-Million-Pound <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/take-biodiversity-seriously-otherwise-one-day-everything-will-perish-aparna-kumar-first-ips-officer-to-complete-7-summits-challenge-to-wion-236530">biodiversity</a> fund will also&nbsp;invest&nbsp;in projects to tackle illegal wildlife trade by strengthening law enforcement, training anti-poaching rangers and helping communities find alternative ways to make a living.

Johnson&nbsp;said "there are more U.N. officials than there are lions in the wild in Africa" and joked about feeding Britain's House of Lords to tigers during his remarks at the Climate Action Summit at the United Nations.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday called for greater global action to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss and announced a $ 1.25 Billion Fund to help save endangered animals like the Black Rhino, African Elephant, Snow Leopard and Sumatran tiger.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday called for greater global action to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss and announced a $ 1.25 Billion Fund to help save endangered animals like the Black Rhino, African Elephant, Snow Leopard and Sumatran tiger. The 220-Million-Pound biodiversity fund will also invest in projects to tackle illegal wildlife trade by strengthening law enforcement, training anti-poaching rangers and helping communities find alternative ways to make a living. Johnson said "there are more U.N. officials than there are lions in the wild in Africa" and joked about feeding Britain's House of Lords to tigers during his remarks at the Climate Action Summit at the United Nations.

Boris Johnson says UK will invest $1.25 billion to save endangered species

On the sidelines of the UN Climate Summit, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar spoke to WION's Palki Sharma Upadhyay in an exclusive conversation. Javadekar spoke on a range of issues and stated that India has emerged as a global leader on <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/in-pics-how-dare-you-greta-thunberg-thunders-at-world-leaders-at-united-nations-251573">climate change</a>.

Here's the full transcript of the interview.&nbsp;

WION: The kind of commitment that India has shown on climate change, would it be fair to say that while developed countries kept their side of the bargain, India has emerged as a global leader on climate change?

Javadekar: I think absolutely yes, it has been a stunning performance by India and what a change. Five years ago, we were considered as the backbenchers now we are leading from the front with our actions. India has done remarkably in solar energy program, renewable energy program, the water program, the sanitation program, the clean air program, the clean fuel program, bio-fuel, and many others. Our forest covers, tree covers have increased, in-forest and outside forest also to an extent of 15,000 sq kilometres. So, it's all under Modi ji's dynamic leadership that all these actions are happening in India and we can proudly put before the world.

WION: PM Modi had said that the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/time-for-talks-is-over-world-needs-to-act-now-pm-modi-at-un-climate-change-summit-251563">time for talking is over</a> and it is the time for the action, that India has come up with a roadmap.

Javadekar: The roadmap is what he laid out today. As far as renewable energy is concerned, as far as bio-fuel is concerned, then making fuel also taking it to the next level and at the same time investing more money, the increase in forest cover, the water mission, the sanitation program, single-use plastic ban call. The prime minister has not called for a ban, he has appealed to the common people to stop using single-use plastic.

That's what the program is about, collecting the uncollected plastic waste, uncollected plastic waste is a problem and that will be addressed through this public movement. We issued a notification in 2016 on plastic waste management, which also has elements on extended producers responsibility and many other factors, so now we have given some time to corporations and municipal bodies and will now be implementing it more strictly after the October 2 program launch by the prime minister.

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WION: On single-use plastic ban, the prime minister said the move does not succeed unless you provide a viable alternative, your thoughts?&nbsp;

Javadekar: The prime minister never talked about banning. To stop using single-use plastic is a public movement, it is a voluntary action. The problem is uncollected plastic waste below 50 microns, the thin bags are a major problem. Because for grocery shops or for buying vegetables also, people use those thin plastic bags. PM Modi says to use a cloth bag instead, it was being used earlier too.

The bottles that get recycled are not a problem. The prime minister wants to change the habit of extra dependence on plastic. Let there be a public movement, let there be regulations to follow and then we can achieve the target of clean India also by addressing the last mile of waste management.

WION: PM Modi also mentioned a global behavioural change. Do you believe that any of these roadmaps with leading economies of the world like us would not follow the actions? Like the US pulling out of the Paris accord and that has dealt a blow to global climate action.

Javadekar: I don't know the records actually but ever since the US pulled out of the Paris accord, today was the first time when US President Donald Trump dropped in a UN meeting on climate and that too to listen to PM Modi.

WION: Does that denote a change of heart?

Javadekar: I don't know, but lets always be hopeful that things will change for the better.

WION: Another point that was raised today was a disaster-resilient infrastructure. At a time when the global economy is under pressure if you talk about meeting emission norms, if you talk about pushing global climate action, it puts immense pressure on emerging economies like India. How do we balance with that?

Javadekar: That is the real issue, therefore the role of finance and technology transfer, seamless technology transfer becomes more important. Because you should not profit from possible disaster or a certain disaster of climate change. So, technologies we can reduce emissions must be available to the world at an affordable cost. That's the point which we are raising. The last two days we were in a meeting for industrial transitions and low carbon path. That's very important.

We need innovations and technologies to be cheaper, technologies to be affordable so that it is a win-win situation where you reduce the emissions and can still manage it effectively without increasing the price and without becoming uncompetitive in the markets.

WION: The prime minister also linked it to the Indian tradition and called it a people's movement. Movements and policies succeed when there is a political push and political will. In recent general elections in India, talks of climate change were in the manifesto but it was not in front of any political parties' manifesto or agenda. Do you think the PM wants climate change as the central point for the political agenda as well?

Javadekar: He is not setting the political agenda, what he is doing is taking India's legacy forward. We have a very good term in our tradition which is 'charachar srishti' which means flora and fauna becomes a family, that is what India's ethos is all about. We care about the environment, our theme is that the environment will give you enough but your greed cannot be fulfilled because we have limited resources - that is the message of the Indian culture. You know that the Bishnoi tribes in Rajasthan sacrificed their lives so that the trees could not be cut, that's a huge thing.

WION: We know that Delhi, during Diwali, will become a gas chamber. Is the government going to do anything about it?

Javadekar: We have already done 5 major things, therefore the good days - as far as clean air is considered - have increased and the number of bad air days has reduced. Point 2.5 and point 10 mg of dust particles have also reduced in the last 5 years because of our concentrated actions. Eastern peripheral expressway was completed by this government and therefore around 60,000 vehicles which use to pass through Delhi are now not coming to Delhi, which used to add great pollution to that extent.

With respect to industrial pollution, there is an effective ban on industries and pollution, 24 hours monitoring, a new technology for bricks cleaning and many measures are in place so that industrial pollution is under check. For dust pollution, we came out with the construction management rule, the construction and waste demolition rule now has new factories also under the purview.

We have already closed the Badarpur power plant and Rajghat power plant. We have already switched to BS-Vi fuel. Vehicles from April 1 will be BS-Vi compliant. Thousands of three-wheeler vehicles are already e-rikshaws. All this has had an impact on air pollution.

Even in stubble burning, there is a reduction of 30 per cent because the central government has invested, state governments have invested, we are offering incentives so that they don't burn and use that for many other uses. So everything is going as per the plan.

In November, yes, there is always a problem because we have windless and rainless winters. These are two naturals things which worsen the air quality, but we have at least accepted that there is a problem, we started AQI, the prime minister launched and we also established hundreds of air quality monitoring stations. We are doing localised experiments also. Everything is resulting favourably as far as Delhi's air pollution is concerned.

On the sidelines of the UN Climate Summit, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar spoke to WION's Palki Sharma Upadhyay in an exclusive conversation.

On the sidelines of the UN Climate Summit, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar spoke to WION's Palki Sharma Upadhyay in an exclusive conversation. Javadekar spoke on a range of issues and stated that India has emerged as a global leader on climate change. Here's the full transcript of the interview. WION: The kind of commitment that India has shown on climate change, would it be fair to say that while developed countries kept their side of the bargain, India has emerged as a global leader on climate change? Javadekar: I think absolutely yes, it has been a stunning performance by India and what a change. Five years ago, we were considered as the backbenchers now we are leading from the front with our actions. India has done remarkably in solar energy program, renewable energy program, the water program, the sanitation program, the clean air program, the clean fuel program, bio-fuel, and many others. Our forest covers, tree covers have increased, in-forest and outside forest also to an extent of 15,000 sq kilometres. So, it's all under Modi ji's dynamic leadership that all these actions are happening in India and we can proudly put before the world. WION: PM Modi had said that the time for talking is over and it is the time for the action, that India has come up with a roadmap. Javadekar: The roadmap is what he laid out today. As far as renewable energy is concerned, as far as bio-fuel is concerned, then making fuel also taking it to the next level and at the same time investing more money, the increase in forest cover, the water mission, the sanitation program, single-use plastic ban call. The prime minister has not called for a ban, he has appealed to the common people to stop using single-use plastic. That's what the program is about, collecting the uncollected plastic waste, uncollected plastic waste is a problem and that will be addressed through this public movement. We issued a notification in 2016 on plastic waste management, which also has elements on extended producers responsibility and many other factors, so now we have given some time to corporations and municipal bodies and will now be implementing it more strictly after the October 2 program launch by the prime minister. × WION: On single-use plastic ban, the prime minister said the move does not succeed unless you provide a viable alternative, your thoughts? Javadekar: The prime minister never talked about banning. To stop using single-use plastic is a public movement, it is a voluntary action. The problem is uncollected plastic waste below 50 microns, the thin bags are a major problem. Because for grocery shops or for buying vegetables also, people use those thin plastic bags. PM Modi says to use a cloth bag instead, it was being used earlier too. The bottles that get recycled are not a problem. The prime minister wants to change the habit of extra dependence on plastic. Let there be a public movement, let there be regulations to follow and then we can achieve the target of clean India also by addressing the last mile of waste management. WION: PM Modi also mentioned a global behavioural change. Do you believe that any of these roadmaps with leading economies of the world like us would not follow the actions? Like the US pulling out of the Paris accord and that has dealt a blow to global climate action. Javadekar: I don't know the records actually but ever since the US pulled out of the Paris accord, today was the first time when US President Donald Trump dropped in a UN meeting on climate and that too to listen to PM Modi. WION: Does that denote a change of heart? Javadekar: I don't know, but lets always be hopeful that things will change for the better. WION: Another point that was raised today was a disaster-resilient infrastructure. At a time when the global economy is under pressure if you talk about meeting emission norms, if you talk about pushing global climate action, it puts immense pressure on emerging economies like India. How do we balance with that? Javadekar: That is the real issue, therefore the role of finance and technology transfer, seamless technology transfer becomes more important. Because you should not profit from possible disaster or a certain disaster of climate change. So, technologies we can reduce emissions must be available to the world at an affordable cost. That's the point which we are raising. The last two days we were in a meeting for industrial transitions and low carbon path. That's very important. We need innovations and technologies to be cheaper, technologies to be affordable so that it is a win-win situation where you reduce the emissions and can still manage it effectively without increasing the price and without becoming uncompetitive in the markets. WION: The prime minister also linked it to the Indian tradition and called it a people's movement. Movements and policies succeed when there is a political push and political will. In recent general elections in India, talks of climate change were in the manifesto but it was not in front of any political parties' manifesto or agenda. Do you think the PM wants climate change as the central point for the political agenda as well? Javadekar: He is not setting the political agenda, what he is doing is taking India's legacy forward. We have a very good term in our tradition which is 'charachar srishti' which means flora and fauna becomes a family, that is what India's ethos is all about. We care about the environment, our theme is that the environment will give you enough but your greed cannot be fulfilled because we have limited resources - that is the message of the Indian culture. You know that the Bishnoi tribes in Rajasthan sacrificed their lives so that the trees could not be cut, that's a huge thing. WION: We know that Delhi, during Diwali, will become a gas chamber. Is the government going to do anything about it? Javadekar: We have already done 5 major things, therefore the good days - as far as clean air is considered - have increased and the number of bad air days has reduced. Point 2.5 and point 10 mg of dust particles have also reduced in the last 5 years because of our concentrated actions. Eastern peripheral expressway was completed by this government and therefore around 60,000 vehicles which use to pass through Delhi are now not coming to Delhi, which used to add great pollution to that extent. With respect to industrial pollution, there is an effective ban on industries and pollution, 24 hours monitoring, a new technology for bricks cleaning and many measures are in place so that industrial pollution is under check. For dust pollution, we came out with the construction management rule, the construction and waste demolition rule now has new factories also under the purview. We have already closed the Badarpur power plant and Rajghat power plant. We have already switched to BS-Vi fuel. Vehicles from April 1 will be BS-Vi compliant. Thousands of three-wheeler vehicles are already e-rikshaws. All this has had an impact on air pollution. Even in stubble burning, there is a reduction of 30 per cent because the central government has invested, state governments have invested, we are offering incentives so that they don't burn and use that for many other uses. So everything is going as per the plan. In November, yes, there is always a problem because we have windless and rainless winters. These are two naturals things which worsen the air quality, but we have at least accepted that there is a problem, we started AQI, the prime minister launched and we also established hundreds of air quality monitoring stations. We are doing localised experiments also. Everything is resulting favourably as far as Delhi's air pollution is concerned.

We're leading from the front on climate change: Prakash Javadekar tells WION

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