Mumbai: Former Rajya Sabha MP Vandana Chavan To Designate Young Warriors To Fight Against Climate Change

Former member of parliament Vandana Chavan will launch the Mumbai Chapter of India Climate Warriors to attract youngsters in the fight against climate change. Along with environment and social organisations, college students will be identified as Eco Warriors to spread awareness among masses.

Chavan, a former Rajya Sabha MP and environmentalist from Pune had launched an initiative called Pune Climate Warriors in 2022 to create awareness on climate change and take action against it. The initiative, started by her organisation Association for Learning, Education, Research and Training (ALERT), was also replicated in Nagpur, Sangli, Phaltan and Bihar’s Champaran  included knowledge sharing sessions, green school initiatives, action projects, and community engagement.

Pune Climate Warriors saw participation of around 25,000 students from 64 schools in 2022 and 40,000 students from 84 schools in the second season in 2023. After successful implementation in Pune and other cities, Chavan has announced launching the initiative in Mumbai under the banner of India Climate Warriors. At a meeting organised on Friday, in presence of former Mumbai mayorNirmala Prabhavalkar and other activists, Chavan announced her plan to roll out the same model in Mumbai with the aim to expand it nationally.

Talking to The Free Press Journal, Chavan said, “Climate change is the most severe issue being faced by mankind. Awareness is extremely important as people do not know why it is happening and what to do about it. Although I have been working to spread awareness from 2007, the response from Pune Climate Warriors is satisfactory. Mumbai is going to bear a huge brunt of climate change and therefore we will implement the Pune model in Mumbai as a modest effort in this direction.”

To implement a comprehensive climate change awareness program targeting school children and college students, a self-awareness program will be conducted in Mumbai on Friday. It will also target to mobilise support and participation from different organisations to ensure smooth implementation of the Pune model in Mumbai.

Furkan Shaikh, founder of We Are Stronger Together, one of the partner organisations in Mumbai, said, "As we expand our climate change awareness programs from Pune to Mumbai and beyond, our goal is to educate and empower the youth to lead a sustainable future. I, look forward to collaborating with schools and colleges to tackle climate change together and hope the environment climate crusader will join us on 26th July 2024 to strategise and mobilize for a greener tomorrow in Mumbai."