All you need to know about Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) Initiative

Suchandra Mukherjee

03 Jul, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the “Lifestyle for Environment” (LiFE) notion during the COP26 conference in Glasgow on November 1, 2021. To safeguard and conserve the environment, he urged individuals and institutions worldwide to embrace LiFE as a global movement promoting conscious and purposeful utilisation rather than thoughtless and harmful consumption. LiFE places responsibility on individuals and communities to lead lives that are in harmony with the Earth and refrain from causing harm to it. Those who adopt this way of life are acknowledged as Pro Planet People within the LiFE framework.

Mission LiFE Objective

India possesses one of the world’s swiftest-growing economies and accommodates nearly one-sixth of the global population. The progress of India is pivotal for worldwide development and plays a crucial role in achieving the world’s sustainable development goals. Climate change is one of India’s multiple challenges on its development agenda. Various measures have been implemented at a larger scale to address environmental degradation and climate change, including policy reforms, economic incentives, regulations, and more. Individual and community behaviour is important in determining the state of environmental and climate crises. To transform the vision of Lifestyle for Environment into tangible outcomes, Mission LiFE has been formulated to mobilise at least one billion Indian citizens and other global individuals to undertake individual and collective actions to protect and conserve the environment from 2022-23 to 2027-28. The target within India is to make at least 80% of all villages and urban local bodies environmentally friendly^[1] by 2028.

Implementation of Lifestyle for Environment Mission

Mission Lifestyle for Environment(LiFE), being a global initiative, envisions three fundamental transformations in ourcollective approach to sustainability, which will be implemented in a phased manner:

1. Demand Transformation (Phase I): This phase encourages individuals worldwide to adopt simple yet impactful environmentally friendly practices daily.
2. Supply Transformation (Phase II): As large numbers of individuals begin embracing sustainable practices, the subsequent shift in demand is expected to gradually influence industries and markets to adapt their supply and procurement strategies to meet the evolving market demands.
3. Policy Transformation (Phase III): By influencing the demand and supply dynamics at both the national and global levels, Mission LiFE aims to trigger substantial changes in industrial and government policies that support sustainable consumption and production on a large scale.

The mission will be initiated and piloted by NITI Aayog and implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) of the Government of India. The implementation process will be non-linear and non-sequential. While each phase will naturally lead into the next, all phases will progress simultaneously, reinforcing each other’s impact.

• The Energy for LiFE campaign, initiated by the Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy, aims to raise awareness about the core concept of Agni Tattva, which represents energy and is one of the five elements known as Panchmahabhoot, including Earth (Prithvi), Water (Jal), Fire (Agni), Air (Vayu), and Aether/Space (Aakash).
• The Agni Tattva Campaign:
• It serves as a platform for experts and specialists to share their knowledge and experiences, seeking solutions for a sustainable future.
• The campaign covers various significant topics related to health, transportation, consumption and production, security, environment, and spirituality.
• Regarding the Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) Movement:
• India introduced the concept of LiFE during (COP 26) the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Glasgow in 2021.
• LiFE promotes an environmentally conscious lifestyle emphasising “mindful and deliberate utilisation” rather than “mindless and wasteful consumption.”
• The mission aims to replace the prevailing “use-and-dispose” economy, driven by thoughtless and destructive consumption, with a circular economy characterised by conscious and intentional consumption.

Objectives of Lifestyle for Environment Mission

The objective of Lifestyle for Environment is as follows:

• The objective of the mission is to utilise the influence of social networks to shape social norms related to climate.
• It establishes a global network of individuals called “Pro-Planet People” (P3), who are committed to adopting and promoting environmentally friendly lifestyles.
• Through the P3 community, the mission aims to create a self-sustainable ecosystem that reinforces and enables environmentally friendly behaviours.

India’s Achievements

India has made significant achievements in environmental conservation, including increasing forest cover, reaching non-fossil fuel-based installed electric capacity targets ahead of schedule, achieving ethanol blending targets, and having substantial renewable energy capacity. These achievements showcase India’s commitment to sustainable development and contribute to the global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

India’s Achievements in Lifestyle for Environment:

• Increase in Forest Cover:
  • India’s forest cover has been expanding, resulting in the growth of populations of lions, tigers, leopards, elephants, and rhinos.
  • The total forest cover in 2021 reached 21.71% of the total geographical area, compared to 21.67% in 2019 and 21.54% in 2017.
• Installed Electric Capacity:
  • India has successfully achieved its commitment of reaching 40% installed electric capacity from non-fossil fuel-based sources, accomplishing this goal nine years ahead of schedule.
• Ethanol Blending Target:
  • The target of blending 10% ethanol in petrol has been achieved five months earlier than the November 2022 deadline.
  • This is a significant accomplishment considering that blending was only at 1.5% in 2013-14 and 5% in 2019-20.
• Renewable Energy Target:
  • As of November 30, 2021, India’s installed Renewable Energy (RE) capacity stands at 150.54 GW, comprising solar (48.55 GW), wind (40.03 GW), small hydropower (4.83 GW), bio-power (10.62 GW), and large hydro (46.51 GW).
  • According to the findings of the Renewables 2022 Global Status Report (GSR 2022) by REN21, India was ranked third in wind power, fourth in solar power, and third in renewable energy installed capacity in 2021.

LiFE and Sustainable Development Goals

Environmental degradation extends beyond being merely one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It acts as a catalyst, exacerbating some of humanity’s most pressing challenges, such as health, poverty, and hunger. A new development paradigm must be embraced globally to support livelihoods, foster economic growth and investment opportunities, improve living standards, and address the climate crisis.

Given the global commitment to achieving the SDGs by 2030, it is important to recognise that Mission Lifestyle for Environment directly or indirectly contributes to almost all the SDGs. Additionally, considering India’s population, any large-scale behaviour change implemented in the country will directly and immediately impact the global SDG targets. Example:TheSwachh Bharat Mission (SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation) successfully reduced 60% of the world’s one billion open defecators by altering the behaviour of 550 million Indians from open defecation to using toilets.

Conclusion

Lifestyle for Environment(LiFE) envisions three core shifts in our collective approach towards sustainability: a change in demand, a change in supply, and a policy change. These shifts, implemented in a phased manner, seek to encourage individuals worldwide to adopt environmentally friendly actions, influence industries and markets to respond to revised market demands and trigger significant changes in industrial and government policies to support sustainable consumption and production.The mission is designed to be incubated, curated, and piloted by NITI Aayog and subsequently implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) of the Government of India. It recognises the critical role of individual and community behaviour in addressing environmental and climate crises. By leveraging the strength of social networks and creating a global network of “Pro-Planet People” (P3), LiFE aims to create an ecosystem that reinforces and enables environmentally friendly behaviours.

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