Meet The Indian Youth Climate Leaders Who Have Joined Hands With The UN For Climate Action

Last week the United Nations in India announced the launch of its climate campaign, We The Change, which aims to showcase climate solutions pioneered by young Indians as a celebration of India's climate leadership.

Through the campaign, 17 young climate champions from across India who have done pioneering work in diverse sectors, including renewables, forest management, financing, climate entrepreneurship, sustainable agriculture, disaster risk reduction, ecosystem restoration, water conservation and waste management will take their message to the youth of this country.

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"The campaign - inspired by the stories of India's young climate leaders - encourages us to adopt a more solution-based, innovative approach to fight climate change. We know solutions are already within reach to solve the present climate crisis. We hope that through the #WeTheChangeNow campaign, we will inspire bolder climate action from people, communities and the national and state governments," says Deirdre Boyd, UN Resident Coordinator in India.

The campaign will celebrate and curate innovative, sustainable and equitable climate solutions and actions being pioneered by young people in India. The focus is on strengthening engagement with governments and civil society for a more collaborative approach to climate action.

Indiatimes spoke to some of them.

Garvita Gulati

Garvita Gulati, a Bengaluru-based environmentalist who has been hailed for her 'glass-half-full' campaign to reduce water wastage in India is one of 17 youth leaders.

The 21-year-old began her activism at the age of 15 when she learned about the water crisis the world is facing.

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"I came across stories of farmers taking their own lives, women, and children having to walk for hours to collect water, etc. I felt like I should do something to tackle this, but did not know what. Then as I studied about it more, I learned that every year, 14 million liters of water get wasted from restaurants. That is when the idea of glass half full struck me. At first, I tried to convince restaurants to fill only half of the glass with water. This was initially limited to a few restaurants that were in my locality, who were also reluctant about the idea. Later I wrote a petition to the Nation Restaurant Association of India and after nearly a year of campaigning, the industry body that has nearly 5 lakh members across India agreed to the idea," Garvita told Indiatimes.

Since then, Garvita said her campaign has been able to save more than 10 million liters of water. She has also taken the campaign to the global stage.

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Growing up in Bengaluru, the city which is predicted to be the second in the world to run out of water, Garvita said she like the other 16 changemakers will be able to take their work to a much larger platform and policymakers.

"There are a lot of young changemakers who have great ideas, but they are not able to take it to the next level. I believe that we are living in a society that has become more aware and is welcoming to new ideas. Every young person has a new, fresh idea. That is the magic of our generation," Garvita said.

Heeta Lakhani

Heeta Lakhani, a Mumbai native got into climate activism after she attended the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. She joined YOUNGO the Youth Constituency of the UNFCCC and is currently coordinates youth engagement on climate change-related issues from around the world.

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"I also run an environmental education program called 'The Green Warriors' which is started in 2017. This is after I became aware of the gaps in climate change education. I work with children aged 10-16, where we try to bridge the knowledge gap when it comes to climate change. We are a team of four girls, and we have been carrying out our educational programs, mostly in Mumbai and Pune." Heeta said.

Sneha Shahi

Sneha Shahi, a conservationist who worked on the fronts of plastic waste management and water conservation said such initiatives will help people like her to reach a wider set of audiences when it comes to climate change actions.

She has worked on campaigns like Plastic Tide Turner Champion and the restoration of the Bhuki stream in Vadodra.

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As a Master's student of Environmental Sciences at Maharaja Sayajirao University Shena worked with Centre for Environment Education (CEE) on plastic waste and later on the Bhuki stream restoration project.

"The health of our rivers and other water bodies have been badly affected. Even when it may not be visible to us the water in most of our rivers has heavy metal in it and can even lead to cancer. One of the main reasons for the worsening quality of our waters is because the consumption is increasing and we do not have enough treatment plants to recycle all the wastewater that is generated. The condition will only get worse in the coming decades," Sneha said.

UNEP

According to her restoring water bodies, both in urban and rural areas can be a solution for the increasing water crisis.

"The restoration of a waterbody is a long process and involves the participation of various groups including scientists, locals, and volunteers. A natural system is self-purifying, but our actions have polluted it. So we need to make it resilient again when we restore the water body. As far as the Bhuki restoration is concerned, since we worked on it through the university, we were able to guild my junior batches. They will now train the next batch of students and the process will continue. In this way, we can ensure that the restoration process continues unaffected," she said.