new delhi pitching for collective efforts to deal with critical issues of climate change and pollution prime minister narendra modi on wednesday said the environment is not just a global cause but also personal as well as collective responsibility for every individual and environment conservation is a commitment and not compulsion for india human empowerment is impossible without a better environment and the way forward is through collectiveness rather than selectiveness said modi in his written message to the teris annual world sustainable development summit wsds which was jointly inaugurated here by guyana vice president bharrat jagdeo cop28 president designate sultan al jaber of uae and indias environment minister bhupender yadavunderlining indias efforts to deal with the global challenges through longterm roadmap for sustainable and environment friendly lifestyle the prime minister said our initiatives to adopt a healthier cleaner lifestyle include upgrading infrastructure to encourage electric mobility increased use of biofuel for transportation leverage hydrogen as a fuel convert waste to wealth and water treatment plants to ensure clean riverswe are striving to meet an increased portion of our demand for electricity from renewable and alternative sources of energy through latest technology and innovation we are devising solutions to diverse urban challenges particularly pollution and cleanlinessthe inaugural day of the threeday summit saw the participants make a clarion call to keep the 15 degree celsius goal alive without compromising on the principles of equity and justice at forums such as the g20 and the un climate conferences cops they also emphasized on the need to provide financial support to developing countries for facing those challenges and looked to india for taking up leadership roles in resolving various issues during its g20 presidency pointing out that it is impossible for many developing countries to achieve sustainable development goals sdgs without financing the vice president of guyana said the small countries not only need climate finance they need a reform of the global financial system to achieve sustainable development underlining the criticality of balance in the discourse on sustainable development in order to find lasting solutions he said we need to reduce the production of fossil fuels we need carbon capture utilization and storage and we need a mass transit into renewable energy it is the combined action on all three fronts that will deliver lasting solutions but often the debate is between the extremes and sometimes it clouds the search for solutions balance is crucial in his opening address indias environment minister noted that combating climate change biodiversity loss and land degradation transcend political considerations and is a shared global challenge india is contributing significantly to be a part of the solution he said while noting how living in harmony with nature has been traditionally in indian ethos and the same has been reflected by the mantra life or lifestyle for environment coined by prime minister modithe cop28 president designate al jaber who received the distinguished alumni award from teri school of advanced studies on the occasion noted that the goal