Renewable energy not optional but compulsion to tackle climate change: Dhankhar

Gandhinagar: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Wednesday that renewable energy is no longer optional but a compulsion, calling for efforts to make the planet habitable by tackling climate change.

Addressing the valedictory session of the RE-INVEST 2024, Dhankhar said India’s knowledge about climate change emanates from holy scriptures Vedas and Upanishads and the country has taken a lead in the area when the global scenario is marked by disturbance.

The 4th edition of the 3-day Renewable Energy Investors Meet and Expo (RE-INVEST 2024) concluded on Wednesday in the presence of Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Union ministers Prahlad Joshi and Bhupender Yadav.

“Interest in RE is not optional, it is compulsion. We will have to take an interest in this because this concerns our existence. And therefore, RE-INVEST 2024 has the potential to be a powerful catalyst for action, an action that is the need of the hour,” the vice president said.

Calling climate change an “existential challenge”, Dhankhar said that the entire world has awakened to it as “we are fully alive (to the fact) that we don't have another planet to live”.

“And therefore there is no option but to work; work 24 hours to bring about a scenario so that we can contain the climate change menace, then engage in its restoration, and then make this planet habitable,” he said.

Dhankar said that India, with its civilisational depth of 5,000 years, has taken a lead in the fight against climate change. “Our knowledge about climate change emanates from our Vedas and Upanishads. And therefore, a change was initiated from this land,” he added.

To tackle climate change, there is a need to create an ecosystem with holistic involvement of all, he said.

“This country has become an epicentre to bring about harmony in the world ... India has given a clarion call ...All agencies in the globe need to converge to tackle and address the menace of climate change. And in this, every individual has a role to play,” he said.

Tackling climate change is not just the work of government agencies. Every individual can contribute by ensuring they consume energy optimally, said the vice president in his valedictory address.

“Everyone on the planet has to keep in mind that energy has to be consumed optimally, energy has to be consumed as per your needs, energy has to be consumed in a manner that makes everything sustainable,” he said.

After a long time, a leader from India now dominates the global discourse, he said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“India is no longer a sleeping giant, a sleeping elephant. It is on the rise. And the rise is incremental and for the benefit of one and all,” he said.

The kind of development India is witnessing is very soothing. It is among the handful of countries with a focus on green hydrogen, he said.

“When we tackle climate change we also provide a greater basket of opportunities for youth. A society gains from the holistic manner,” Dhankhar said.

He said India’s diversity – race, climate, region, and religion – makes its sustainable development a role model for the entire world.