Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE)

Published on 06 Apr 2025

India presented the concept of LiFE at the COP26 in Glasgow in 2021.The concept encourages "mindful and deliberate utilisation" as instead of "mindless and wasteful consumption" as a means of leading an environmentally conscientious lifestyle. It emboldens the spirit of the P3 model, i.e. Pro Planet People.

• Mission LiFE is based on a three-pronged strategy to reshape our collective approach to sustainability:

• Individual Action (Demand): The goal is to inspire people to make small but significant eco-friendly changes in their daily lives.

• Industry and Market Response (Supply): It aims to generate demand for green products and services, forcing markets and sectors to quickly adjust to changing consumer demands.

• Policy Influence: It works to promote the environmental cause by influencing government policies and industrial practices through the promotion of sustainable consumption and production.

Features of LiFE Mission

• Emphasis on Individual Behaviours: Focus on the attitudes and behaviours of people both individually and collectively to "make life a mass movement" (Jan Andolan).

• Global Network of Individuals: The goal of the Mission is to establish a global community of people, or "Pro-Planet People" (P3), who are all committed to leading eco-friendly lives.

• Eco-Friendly Transportation: Choosing eco-friendly modes of transportation, like public transportation, walking, bicycling, carpooling, and using electric or hybrid cars.

• Leverage Local Cultures: To drive the campaign, employ climate-friendly societal norms, beliefs, and daily household routines from different cultures around the world.

• Zero-Waste Lifestyle: Adopting decisions that support a zero-waste lifestyle, avoiding single-use plastics, and composting organic waste are all ways to reduce waste.

• Green Energy Adoption: Investing money into sustainable energy sources, like solar panels, to power your home and lessen your dependency on fossil fuels.

Steps taken by India to achieve LiFE Mission goals

• Swachh Sagar Surakshit Sagar campaign: It aimed to remove approximately 15,000 tonnes of waste from 75 beaches in 75 days.

• Ujjwala Scheme: It increased households with LPG connections from 62 percent in 2015 to 99.8 percent in 2021.

• Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM): It led to the construction and use of over 100 million toilets in rural India within a span of years.

Tags:
Environment

Keywords:
LiFE COP26 Green energy

Syllabus:
General Studies Paper 3

Topics:
Environment and Climate Change