Researcher- Environment and Climate Action
As the sun rises over India’s 649,000 villages, life awakens in a familiar rhythm, milk cans clank on bicycles, children trek to school past grazing cattle, and the earthy scent of the land fills the air. Yet alongside this pastoral serenity lies a festering problem: waste.
Imagine a land where rivers shimmer with life, not plastic waste. A future where beaches are strewn with seashells, not discarded bottles. This vision isn’t unattainable; it's a glimpse of what India could achieve if it tackles its plastic pollution.
What if you enter a completely empty kitchen one day, with no food in sight and the refrigerator bare? Curious and concerned, you turn on the television to hear alarming news: bees and other pollinators have vanished, and there is a global food crisis. This may sound extreme, but it is a possible reality with the rising temperature, pollution, climate change, habitat depletion, diseases, genetically modified crops and pesticide abuse.
Imagine a world where your job doesn’t just earn you a pay cheque, but also helps clean the air, reduce waste, and fight climate change. As India commits to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 and scaling up renewable energy, green jobs are emerging as a cornerstone of both economic recovery and environmental responsibility.
But for this transition to succeed, India must overcome deep-rooted challenges, ranging from climate literacy gaps to policy fragmentation, skill mismatches, and implementation issues in government schemes.
What if waste wasn’t a problem, but an opportunity? Can you imagine a town where waste doesn’t pile up? Nestled in the quiet mountains of Shikaou Island, Japan’s town of Kamikatsu with a community of 1500 residents, has achieved the seemingly impossible: a zero-waste lifestyle, inspiring the world to rethink sustainability. The town has proven that even small communities can make a big impact when it comes to zero-waste.
