Engineer, innovator, education reformist, passionate conservationist, climate change practitioner, Ramon Magsasay award winner Sonam Wangchuk, and Dr. Prateek Kanakia, Chairman & Founder, TheGreenBillions Limited, delved deep into questions of climate change, individual responsibility, green hydrogen and net-zero goals in the second episode of the special podcast series "The Green Billions Code" presented by Forbes India
This monsoon season saw large parts of India are smarting under a wave of floods that have brought bustling metropolises such as Delhi and Mumbai to their knees. Hundreds of acres of land remained submerged for weeks on end by overflowing rivers from Himachal Pradesh to Assam. It is easy to be dazed by the impact of climate change that has reached our homes. But everyone—governments, companies, politicians, and consumers—needs to act now.
Engineer, innovator, education reformist, passionate conservationist, climate change practitioner, Ramon Magsasay award winner Sonam Wangchuk, and Dr. Prateek Kanakia, Chairman & Founder, TheGreenBillions Limited, delved deep into these questions and related aspects in the second episode of the special podcast series “The Green Billions Code” presented by Forbes India.
“The Green Billions Code”, the special podcast series presented by Forbes India, will dive deep into issues of sustainability and interconnected areas in conversations with top global and national experts who are at the frontline of ushering in change.
There is also this idea of personal social responsibility (PSR) as compared to corporate social responsibility (CSR). It involves responsibilities of individuals for achieving climate change goals.
While governments and corporates can create impact by big policies, individuals will have to be the real change agents, Mr Wangchuk said. “It is individual citizens who change what governments do. While planting trees and the switching off of lights are good initiatives and must be promoted because they are relatable things, citizens can actually change governments and corporations through the power of the ballot and the wallet. Governments will change their policies to the moods of the people who vote for them,” he said.
India’s focus on green hydrogen mission is well appreciated, and there is no gainsaying the fact that it is well intentioned too. But here is a paradox too. At some point, will the unrelenting use of water to produce green hydrogen not result in water scarcity? Can this not lead to a severe imbalance in a finite resource: water? How do we address this within the larger goal of turning India into the world’s hydrogen heart?