Citing the need to raise awareness in the public and in our Youth about climate change and Covid-19 vaccinations, HH Param Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji and Pujya Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiji yesterday welcomed religious, civic and social leaders and stakeholders to the Faith Leaders Capacity Building Workshop organized under the aegis of UNICEF, the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance and Parmarth Niketan to devise a strategy to create and implement action plans to address these two pressing issues.
Joining Pujya Swamiji and Pujya Sadhviji were Pujya Madhavpriyadas Swamiji, President SGVP Gurukul Parivar, Ahmedabad; Pujya Sant Murlidharji, famed Kathakar; Bhikkhu Sanghasena , Buddhist religious leader and Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre – MIMC in Ladakh, Mr. @sankarkumar.sanyal, President of Harijan Sevak Sangh; Acharya Kinle; HH Drikung Kyabagon Chetsang and Drikung Kagyu Sansthan; as well as representatives from the sponsoring agencies and experts in environmental and health and wellness policy and action .
Swami Chidanand Saraswati ji said that climate change is the biggest challenge facing the world at present and tackling it is the greatest need. He shared: “The problems arising due to climate change and its irreversible effects can be a much bigger problem for humanity than COVID-19. Since the effects of sea level rise and glacier melting due to climate change will also continue for many years, there is a need for drastic and immediate reductions in carbon emissions. In my trip to Iceland, I saw that glaciers are melting due to the rise in the temperature of the earth and the water level of the oceans is increasing. This increases the risk of natural disasters. We must work together to face these challenges.”
Given the impact of COVID-19 and the problems of climate change, GIWA and UNICEF have joined hands to work together in India to support the response to COVID-19 and create awareness on the issue of climate change. This workshop is a powerful step in realizing their goals.
