Gandhinagar: Climate action will remain restricted to govt files unless it becomes a “way of life” and a people’s movement, Gujarat climate change minister Arjun Modhwadia said on Wednesday, stressing the need to take climate education and district-level action plans to the grassroots.The state had been among the earliest in the country to establish a dedicated climate change department, said Modhwadia at the Climate Change Awards 2026-27 function in Gandhinagar, where 14 persons from across Gujarat were honoured in five categories.Modhwadia said, “We have to turn climate change action into a mass movement.” He also called for climate change to be incorporated into school, college and university curricula.Modhwadia said district-level climate change action plans had now been prepared for 20 districts, covering practical measures such as shifting from LPG to PNG, replacing diesel generators with electric alternatives and EVs, and climate-friendly practices in agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries.Minister of state for environment Pravin Mali said climate change was a vast field but the number of people working in it remained limited. He stressed the need to communicate concepts such as carbon footprint, net zero and carbon neutrality through simple language, micro-models and practical demonstrations.An MoU was also signed between GEDA and IIM-Ahmedabad for cooperation in climate-related work. The Gujarat climate action tracker, climate change module and district-level climate smart action plan with decarbonisation pathway for 20 districts were also launched.
