1. Demand-side measures: Decreasing the demand for an industrial product should lead to lower production and CO2 emissions. For example, light-weighting can reduce the demand for steel, and cement could be replaced by materials such as wood. In addition, increasing the circularity of products, e.g., by increasing the recycling or reuse of plastics and steel, would lessen CO2 emissions by reducing the production of virgin materials.
2. Energy-efficiency improvements: Increases in energy efficiency can economically cut fuel consumption for energy use by 20 to 40 per cent across sectors. Potential gains in energy efficiency will differ between sectors and facilities. Using less fossil energy to make industrial products will lower CO2 emissions.
3. Electrification of heat: Emissions from the use of fossil fuels to generate heat can be abated by switching to furnaces, boilers, and heat pumps that run on zero-carbon electricity. Electrifying heat can involve a change in the production processes. For example, to electrify ethylene production, companies need to install both electric furnaces and electrically driven compressors.
4. Hydrogen usage: Emissions from the consumption of fossil fuel for heat and emissions from certain feedstocks can be abated by changing them for zero-carbon hydrogen. Hydrogen is generated by using zero-carbon electricity for the electrolysis of water. For example, ammonia production can be decarbonized by replacing the natural gas feedstock with zero-carbon hydrogen.
Biomass usage
5. Biomass usage: Like hydrogen, sustainably produced biomass can be used in place of some fuels and feedstocks. Depending on the fuel or feedstock required, biomass in a solid (wood, charcoal), liquid (biodiesel, bioethanol), or gaseous (biogas) form can be used. For example, steel producers in Brazil use charcoal as a fuel and feedstock instead of coal, and chemical producers in several European countries experiment with bionaphtha in chemical production.
6. Carbon capture: With carbon-capture technology, CO2 can be collected from the exhaust gases produced by an industrial process and prevented from entering the atmosphere. The CO2 can be stored underground (CCS) or used as a feedstock in other processes through carbon capture and usage (CCU).
When estimated against a business-as-usual scenario by 1 billion Indians in 2022-23 to 2027-28, the impact of LiFE actions can be significant.
Switching off the car/scooter engines at traffic lights/railway crossings can save up to 22.5 billion kWh of energy.
Turning off running taps when not in active use can save up to 9 trillion litres of water
Using a cloth bag instead of a plastic bag while shopping can save up to 375 million tonnes of solid waste from entering the landfill.
Discarding non-functioning gadgets in the nearest e-recycling unit can recycle up to 0.75 million tonnes of e-waste
Composting waste food at home can save up to 15 billion tonnes of food from going to landfills.
Sustainable Development
LiFE and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of 17 Global Goals designed by the UN to be a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. The world is facing serious natural resource and environmental challenges: like Global Climate change, freshwater depletion, ocean over-fishing, deforestation, water, and air pollution, and the struggle to feed a planet of billions. India ranked 63rd in the Global Sustainability Index and is the world’s third-largest energy consumer and greenhouse gas emitter.
With a view to the environment, sustainability is about managing and protecting Earth’s natural resources, ecosystems, climate, and atmosphere so that current generations and future generations will live a decent life and millions of other species with whom we share the planet will also be benefitted.
According to the UN, The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the world’s shared plan to end severe poverty, reduce inequality, and protect the planet by 2030.
Children Exploring Nature
Some key changes:
Annually, approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. More than one million bags are used every minute. A plastic bag has an average “working life” of 15 minutes.
An average global person wastes 2.5 litres of water in a day, in brushing, bathing, utensils, laundry, etc.
Turning off lights, ACs and heaters when not in use can save up to 282 kilowatts of energy per day
30 minutes of idling at traffic signals waste nearly 1 litre of fuel.
In view of Mission LiFE being launched in the 75th year of India’s independence, a comprehensive and non-exhaustive list of 75 individual LiFE actions across 7 categories is identified:
3d house with a solar panels mission life
List of Actions [ Mission liEF ]
Energy Saved
Use LED bulbs/ tube-lights
Use public transport wherever possible
Take the stairs instead of an elevator wherever possible
Switch off vehicle engines at red lights and railway crossings
Use bicycles for the local or short commute
Switch off irrigation pumps after use
Prefer CNG/ EV vehicle over petrol/ diesel vehicles
Use carpooling with friends & colleagues
Drive in the correct gear. Keep your foot off the clutch when not changing gears
Install solar water or solar cooker heater on rooftops
Switch off appliances from plug points when not in use
Use biogas for cooking and electricity needs
Keep the temperature of Air Conditioners to 24 degrees
Prefer pressure cookers over other cookware
Keep your electronic devices in energy-saving mode
Use smart switches for appliances which are used frequently
Install community earthen pots for cooling water
Defrost fridge or freezer regularly
Run outdoors instead of on a treadmill
Water Saved
Water Saved
Adopt cultivation of less water-intensive crops like millet
Participate in the recharge of rural water bodies through Amrit Sarovar Scheme
Practice crop diversification. Move from rice & wheat cultivation to pulse & oil seed cropping system.
Use efficient water-saving technologies (like micro-irrigation, bunding, farm ponds, zero tillage, direct seeded rice, alternate wetting and drying and others)
Create rainwater harvesting infrastructure in homes/ schools/ offices
Use drip irrigation systems created with waste materials, wherever possible
Reuse water from washed vegetables to water plants and for other purposes
Pre-soak heavy pots and pans before washing them
Do not discard unused stored water every time there is fresh water coming from taps
Use buckets instead of hose pipes to water plants/ floors/ vehicles
Fix leaks in flushes, taps and waterpipes
Use water-efficient fixtures for taps, showerheads, and toilet flush units
Invest in a water meter for your house to measure water consumption regularly
Reuse water drained out from AC/RO for cleaning utensils, watering plants and others
Prefer a water purification system that wastes less water
Single Use Plastic Reduced
Single Use Plastic Reduced
Use cloth bags for shopping instead of plastic bags
Carry your own water bottle wherever possible
Reuse glass containers/ packaging plastic items as storage boxes
Participate in and mobilize participation for clean-up drives of cities and water bodies
Prefer using non-plastic eco-friendly cutlery during gatherings and events
Turn off running taps when not in active use
Use menstrual cups instead of sanitary napkins
Use recycled plastic over virgin plastic, wherever possible
Use steel/ recyclable plastic lunch boxes and water bottles
Cut the packaging bags used for milk, buttermilk, etc. only partially to avoid plastic bits from mixing into biodegradable waste
LiFE means ‘Lifestyle For Environment’ and was introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—at COP26 in Glasgow on 1 November 2021—as a mass movement for “mindful and deliberate utilization, instead of mindless and destructive consumption” to protect and preserve the environment. This can become a mass movement towards an environmentally conscious lifestyle. As the World Leaders Summit kicked off at COP26 on 1 November, India announced it would be net zero by 2070.
Life is a Public Movement to Mobilize Individuals To Become ‘Pro-Planet People’ If you want to change the world, start with yourself. Responsible individual climate action is the key to safeguarding our collective future. India’s per capita carbon footprint is 60% lower than the global average. This is because our lifestyle is still rooted in sustainable traditional practices. In fact, sustainability has always been a part of our tradition, culture and values. The LiFE movement seeks to transform persons into ‘pro-planet people’ who adopt sustainable lifestyles. Behavioural change of individual people & Make it a mass movement can save our Environment from severe pollution. It will also help in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of a Country.
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 utilization. The Mission intends to nudge individuals to undertake simple acts in their daily lives that can contribute significantly to climate change when embraced across the world.
LiFE plans to leverage the strength of social networks to influence social norms surrounding climate. The Mission intends to create and nurture a global network of individuals, namely ‘Pro-Planet People’ (P3), who will have a shared commitment to adopt and promote environmentally friendly lifestyles. Through the P3 community, the Mission seeks to create an ecosystem that will reinforce and enable environmentally friendly behaviours to be self-sustainable.
Waist-up portrait of smiling young woman holding heap – LifeStyle
International Status
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC), in partnership with the United Nations, World Resources Institute, Centre for Social and Behaviour Change (CSBC) and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), are inviting ideas from across the world.
National status
India, home to 1.3 billion people, is undertaking this arduous effort, despite the reality that our contribution to the world’s cumulative emissions so far is less than 4 per cent and our annual per capita emissions are about one-third of the global average. At the heart of India’s vision of a safe planet is a one-word Mantra – Lifestyle for Environment, that Prime Minister Modi set forth in our National Statement at COP26. Mission LiFE was launched by Prime Minister Modi in the presence of the UN Secretary-General His Excellency Antonio Guterres, on 20th October 2022. The world urgently needs a paradigm shift from mindless and destructive consumption to mindful and deliberate utilization. We are trustees of this planet earth. We must nurture it through sustainable lifestyles that optimize resource use and minimize waste. As the world’s most populous democracy and a vibrant emerging economy, India seeks to lead by example and invites the global community to be a part of Mission LiFE for individual, family and community-based actions.
Our Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, announced India’s aim of achieving net zero emissions by 2070 at Glasgow. Within one year, India has submitted its Long-Term Low Emissions Growth Strategy indicating low carbon transition pathways in key economic sectors. Responding to the call for increased ambition in our 2030 climate targets, India updated its Nationally Determined Contributions in August 2022. We have embarked on far-reaching new initiatives in renewable energy, e-mobility, ethanol blended fuels, and green hydrogen as an alternate energy source. We also seek to foster strong international cooperation through action and solutions-oriented coalitions like the International Solar Alliance and Coalition of Disaster Resilience Infrastructure, both of which were launched and nurtured by India.
