Meri LiFE App

• 16 May 2023

Why in News?

The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change has launched a mobile application called “Meri LiFE” (My Life) to mobilize youth for climate change ahead of World Environment Day on 5^th June.

• The Ministry has developed two dedicated portals for LiFE: the Mission LiFE Portal and the Meri LiFE Portal.

What is the Goal of the Meri LiFE App?

• The Meri LiFE app aims to showcase the power of citizens, especially young people, in saving the environment by emphasizing the impact of simple actions in daily lives.
  • The app is intended to catalyze a national movement for LiFE(Lifestyle for Environment) by creating a structured way to track the progress being made on Mission LiFE.
• It encourages users to participate in a series of LiFE-related tasks under five themes: Save Energy, Save Water, Reduce Single Use Plastic, Adopt Sustainable Food Systems, and Adopt Healthy Lifestyle.
• Upon successful sign-up, users are guided through a gamified experience to take the 5 for 5 challenge and take five LiFE actions towards June 5th, 2023.

What is Mission LiFE?

• The idea of LiFE was introduced by the Prime Minister of India during the 26^th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 1^st November 2021.
• The LiFE Movement aims to utilize the power of collective action and nudge individuals across the world to undertake simple climate-friendly actions in their daily lives.
  • Additionally, it also seeks to leverage the strength of social networks to influence social norms surrounding climate.
• The Mission plans to create and nurture a global network of individuals, namely ‘Pro-Planet People’ (P3), who will have a shared commitment to adopt and promote environmentally friendly lifestyles.
  • Through the P3 community, the Mission seeks to create an ecosystem that will reinforce and enable environmentally friendly behaviors to be self-sustainable.
• The Mission envisions replacing the prevalent ‘use-and-dispose’ economy—governed by mindless and destructive consumption—with a circular economy, which would be defined by mindful and deliberate utilization.

World Environment Day 2023

• About:
  • World Environment Day was established on June 5^th, 1974, by the United Nations General Assembly. It serves as a global platform for raising awareness and acting on pressing environmental issues.
• Theme for 2023:
  • The theme for World Environment Day 2023 is Solutions to Plastic Pollution, which aligns with one of the seven themes of Mission LiFE: “Reducing the use of single-use plastic items.”
  • More than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, half of which is designed to be used only once. Of that, less than 10% is recycled. An estimated 19-23 million tonnes end up in lakes, rivers and seas.
• Host:
  • It is hosted by Côte d'Ivoire in partnership with the Netherlands.
    • India hosted 2018 World Environment Day with “Beat Plastic Pollution” as the theme.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Prelims

Q. The ‘Common Carbon Metric’, supported by UNEP, has been developed for: (2021)

(a) assessing the carbon footprint of building operations around the world

(b) enabling commercial fanning entities around the world to enter carbon emission trading

(c) enabling governments to assess the overall carbon footprint caused by their countries

(d) assessing the overall carbon foot-print caused by the use of fossil fuels by the world in a unit time

Ans: (a)

Source: PIB