Actions for today towards a greener tomorrow
namaste
my name is reva bhardwaj and i’m a
biotechnology student
advocating for carbon neutrality and
sustainable development
i’d like to thank tedx julian university
for giving me this opportunity
to speak at this esteemed platform on
this extremely
important global subject very relevant
to the indian context now i’d like to
request you all
to lend me your ears and attention for
the next 12 minutes
and hear me out these covet 19 times
have yet again made us realize that we
are a victim
of our deeds and the worst part to me
is not the fear of going out and having
chances of contracting this virus
no i don’t want to go out because i hate
wearing a mask and i am pretty sure
most of you would resonate with my
feeling
wearing a mask or a protective shield in
scorching heat
and being helpless about it because if
not this
then what now i’d like you to imagine
a dry and sweltering day you’re out
wearing a mask and carrying an oxygen
cylinder
oh that’s scary isn’t it
at least it is for me maybe too
hypothetical for you
imaginary futuristic or maybe
untrue but to the extent
that we are adding carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere
by burning fossil fuels and endless
deforestation
it feels very painful to say that this
uncomfortable situation
that i asked you to imagine about might
come true
you must be thinking that we are giving
too much importance to carbon dioxide
and neglecting the other greenhouse
gases then let me tell you
that carbon dioxide puts us in the most
significant risk of irreversible climate
change
it stays longest in the atmosphere as
compared to other greenhouse gases
trapping more heat and continuously
increasing the earth’s temperature
by the paris agreement we have to halve
the global carbon emissions by 2030
and have carbon neutral economies by
2050
and where are we headed towards where
are we today
we are amidst a global pandemic
now isn’t this alarming
lately we see a lot of large industries
talking about sustainable development
trying to implement new technologies
modifying them
to make their industrial processes more
sustainable
but is it enough only large industries
talking about sustainable development
and trying to address this issue
does this help us achieve our ultimate
goal
these industries are already aware
enough
they have ample resources and the best
in class technology
also they can wither out the long
gestation period
and make these implementations
profitable for them
but india also has 63 million
industries running at micro small
and medium scale employing over 110
million people
and contributing significantly to
india’s gdp
don’t we have to think about the
sustainable development of these
industries
to make our processes more sustainable
to build a green supply chain
we want to build a green supply chain
because we want to ensure
that when a product is being made
everything
that is put into that product is in an
environmental friendly way
starting from the procurement of raw
materials to discarding the product
at the end of its life cycle should be
in a sustainable manner
notably most of these industries are
located in rural areas
running at a micro scale of course they
do not have the best in class technology
and many resources or are not even aware
enough
so they cannot adopt all sustainable
measures within a year or two
but something can be done within a year
or two
they can take small yet efficient steps
that will bring out very significant and
impactful changes
in the years to come they can start
with greenhouse gas accounting this
accounting method ensures
that the company will be able to check
its greenhouse gas emissions
coming from various industrial processes
because in the order
to address an issue is to acknowledge
that there is one and then to find the
gravity of it
for example these industries can start
checking their carbon emissions from
vehicles
or their electricity usage the waste
generated
smoke coming from their equipment etc
after checking these carbon emissions
they can try to find out the problematic
area contributing maximum to these
emissions
and then specific measures can be taken
to reduce those emissions simple
doable steps which are going to bring
very positive results in a couple of
years
and i feel very proud and happy to share
that in the course of my journey working
with some of these industries
spreading awareness about climate change
and sustainability
talking to these industry people closely
monitoring them
i have witnessed some of them develop
sustainably
and they are benefiting from it simple
yet
efficient steps one step at a time
but being informed enough to take that
step
if i must tell you about one of the many
potential solutions available
that is solar harvesting yes
utilizing solar energy can be very
beneficial
for the industries and not to worry
there are already many government
agencies
subsidizing rooftop solar harvesting
this can be specifically useful for
industries
like meat dairy timber
plywood beverages textile
bricks and blocks and owing to the
pollution
the plastic and meat industry is
contributing
and also keeping in mind that these
industries
cannot be completed cannot be completely
eliminated
at this stage so saving a little on
their production
might help by the end of
2030 we are targeting to halve
our global carbon emissions and on the
current track
we are about to reach 56 gt
by 2030. now
where do we put the excess of carbon
dioxide present in the atmosphere
any ideas we can
convert the captured carbon dioxide
yes you must be thinking this isn’t
something new
plants do it all the time but where are
they
where are plants fact
we have destroyed nature’s carbon sink
but we humans are intelligent aren’t we
we destroy the natural solutions but
then build something artificial that
mimics it
we are funny aren’t we
in today’s world we can convert the
captured carbon dioxide
into industrially valuable products it
is not only beneficial for the
environment
but also boosts industrial growth
because we can
use carbon dioxide as a raw material
bringing it back to the production cycle
carbon dioxide can be converted into
variety of chemicals and materials
like synthetic fuel gasoline ethanol
carbon nanotubes etc
but what excites me the most is carbon
dioxide conversion
to methanol because methanol has a
remarkable potential
of reducing these carbon emissions by 65
to 95 percent
it can be a very good alternative to
fossil fuels
methanol is a clean fuel that does not
leave suit on
burning and emits lesser carbon dioxide
on burning than the conventional fuels
like gasoline or jet oil methanol also
has many other desired one
many other advantages it can be used to
make everyday products
in making plywood in water treatment
process
in electricity production as a precursor
for many
industrial processes wonder fuel
isn’t it i’d like to call methanol a
wonder fuel
because it is beneficial in almost all
of the carbon emission problems that we
are facing today
there are many techniques of converting
carbon dioxide
into methanol but we are still working
to find out the most efficient technique
because in the order of removing one
pollutant from the atmosphere
we do not want to put any other type of
pollutant into it
so we are trying to innovate
and sustainably innovate rather using
biochemical techniques
because when we are putting a
combination of two techniques
like biological and chemical we are
trying to address
three specific factors first
that the process is eco-friendly by
addressing the pollution caused by the
by-products
second increasing the utilization of
carbon dioxide
and last increasing the productivity
by lowering the costs over time as
compared to other products
[Music]
we still haven’t created our magnificent
product
but we are trying trying to innovate
and adapt sustainably because trying is
the only thing
we can do until we get the desired
results
as edison once said i haven’t failed
i have just discovered 10 000 ways that
don’t work
and we can all try can’t we as students
we can try and create awareness as
researchers and scientists
we can try to progress in the right
direction
as industry owners we can try to make
our processes
more sustainable our products more
eco-friendly
as communities or as individuals we can
try to have plantation drives
cleanliness drives we can try to reduce
our consumption
as much as possible reuse and recycle
because we don’t want to wait for the
day when our earth
will not even have enough to fulfill for
our necessities
in the process of fulfilling our greeds
we already have witnessed an alarming
signal of awakening in the form of these
of discovery 19
and again i’d like to reiterate the
aspirational targets our country is
aiming at
to build a cleaner and greener future
very recently on 21st november
our honorable prime minister addressed
that how our country is aiming at
reducing its carbon footprint
by up to 35 percent the very next day
at g20 riyadh summit
he motivated us all and talked about
how india is meeting its paris agreement
targets
and moreover exceeding them so i want to
aspire you all
i want to motivate you to fight climate
change
and save on planet earth because this
is the only one we have thank you