“Taking PM Modi’s view of making India’s G20 presidency a people’s movement forward”: G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant

By Ayushi Agarwal

New Delhi [India], February 17 (ANI): Reinforcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India’s ongoing G20 Presidency a people’s movement, India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant in Delhi said school children and universities students are already involved and will take their countries’ position to a global audience. “The G20 members woukd arrive at a consensus at the declaration on Lifestyle for Sustainability that would help us in becoming pro-planet people and a people’s movement,” Kant said.

Speaking to ANI at the first official Model G20 event held by India’s G20 Secretariat along with the United Nations India Country Office, Kant emphasised the important role played by young students in shaping the world of tomorrow.

“Prime Minister’s view is that we should differentiate this G20 from other G20s by making it a people’s movement. That is why we have involved school children, and university students and today what we are doing is a model G20 comprising eight different schools. They will all take different country positions but arrive by consensus at the declaration on Lifestyle for Sustainability.

That is LiFE,” said Kant. Speaking about the deliberations on the theme “Youth for LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment)”, Kant said, “In our view individual behavioural, community behavioural change is very important as the Prime Minister highlighted and all of us must become pro-planet people. Today’s model United Nations is all about young students with a young mind using their energy, their dynamism and vitality to really shape the world of tomorrow.”

The first official Model G20 event is a simulation exercise of a G20 meeting where school students are essaying the roles of delegates of G20 guest countries and international organisations. The event was inaugurated by India’s G20 Sherpa and the United Nations India Resident Coordinator Shombi Sharp.

Hailing India’s G20 Presidency and calling India an important leader globally in terms of climate action, Shombi Sharp said that India is uniquely positioned to bring countries together across divides and to refocus on important challenges of development including climate action. “India’s G20 presidency is incredibly important. India has become an important leader globally in terms of climate action.

The investments in electric mobility are truly incredible,” he added. Sharp also stressed the critical role the global youth could play in Climate Action through the LiFE initiative. “The young people are learning about how to come together to be ambassadors to bring countries across divide around common challenges. The core challenge selected for today is Youth for life, which reflects on Prime Minister’s Modi lifestyle for Environment initiative that the UN Secretary-General was pleased to launch here in India last year,” he said.

“The idea is simple but critically important. Each one of us individually has the power to make an important change. The young delegates from different countries are coming together, sitting down and understanding each other’s position and see if they can come out with an agreement”, he added.

The meeting has enlisted the participation of eight schools, which includes international schools, private schools and Kendriya Vidyalaya, from Delhi/NCR. In total, over 60 high school students, representing 12 nationalities including ten G20 countries, are participating at the meeting. Further, at the meeting, the students would deliberate on the theme “Youth for LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment)”. They would discuss and exchange views on the leading role that the global youth could play a key role in making LiFE a mass movement for Climate Action.

The idea of LiFE was introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow. The idea promotes an environmentally conscious lifestyle that focuses on ‘mindful and deliberate utilisation’ instead of ‘mindless and wasteful consumption’.

LiFE envisions replacing the prevalent ‘use-and-dispose’ economy–governed by mindless and destructive consumption–with a circular economy, which would be defined by mindful and deliberate utilisation. The theme for the Model G20 event — ‘Youth for LiFE’ was identified keeping in mind the critical role the global youth, being the agents of change, could play in climate action through the LiFE initiative.

The goal of the day-long simulation exercise would be for the participants to negotiate and adopt by consensus an outcome document titled ‘Guiding Principles for Youth-led Mission LiFE’. The outcome document would be handed over to the Chair of the G20’s youth Engagement Group (Youth 20 or Y20) for consideration at their official Y20 meeting.