India can show way to mitigate climate change: PM

“Earth Day is the perfect occasion to reaffirm our commitment to keep our planet clean, green and focus on sustainable development. We belong to a culture that believes in the mantra - Earth is our Mother and we are her children,” Modi tweeted on Wednesday.

He added, “Caring for the environment is an integral part of our ethos. India can truly show the way to the world in mitigating climate change.”

The Prime Minister had recently asserted that the per capita emission of carbon gas is the lowest in India and slammed the developed world for questioning the country over it. He had said that India would set the agenda for the upcoming international conference on climate change to be held in France.

Meanwhile, invoking the ancient Indian tradition of worshipping the earth, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan urged MPs to reiterate their pledge to work towards conserving natural resources. “Let’s repeat our pledge to speed up our efforts to conserve the assets the nature has given us for our use and that of our coming generations,” she told members, adding that a large number of people worship earth every day.

“This day is observed to spread awareness on the rising environmental problems due to rapid exploitation of our natural resources. This opportunity inspires us to work towards the welfare of the environment,” she said.