PM Modi Wears Jacket Made Of Recycled Plastic Bottles At G7 Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday wore a jacket made of recycled material at the G7 Summit in a message of sustainability.

Recycled fabric is made by collecting used pet bottles and crushing and melting them and adding colour and producing yarn. This process cuts the emission drastically at various production levels.

Notably, PM Modi speaking at a session on "Working Together to Address Multiple Crises," during the G-7 Summit in Hiroshima highlighted the holistic use of natural resources and development model inspired by consumerism to be changed.

"I believe that the development model should pave the way for development, not become a hindrance in the progress of developing countries," PM Modi said.

He stressed creating a new model of natural farming as an alternative to fertilizers around the world.

"I believe that we should take the benefit of digital technology to every farmer in the world. It should be our endeavour to separate organic food from fashion statement and commerce and connect it with nutrition and health," PM Modi said.

During the Quad Summit, held on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, PM Modi stressed the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report that makes clear that rapid and far-reaching transitions are needed across all sectors and systems.

"As we move to a net zero world, we underscore that it is critical to strengthen our cooperation to ensure better access to affordable, reliable and secure clean energy in the Indo-Pacific. We will work together to increase the region's access to climate finance and climate-smart technology. Under the Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP), launched in 2022, we continue to work together with Indo-Pacific partners to enhance climate and clean energy cooperation as well as promote adaptation and resilience. In this regard, we welcome the Sydney Energy Forum and the Quad Clean Hydrogen Partnership meeting hosted by Australia and India respectively in July 2022," stated Quad's joint statement.

Issuing a Statement of Principles on Clean Energy Supply Chains in the Indo-Pacific, which provide a basis for Quad's engagement in the region on clean energy supply chain development, it said, "We also announce a Clean Energy Supply Chains initiative designed to accelerate the Indo-Pacific's clean energy transition. 

Working with Indo-Pacific partners, the initiative will facilitate research and development and feasibility study projects to lower clean energy manufacturing and deployment costs, enhance regional energy security, and expand and diversify the regional production of necessary materials and technologies."

Notably, this is not the first time that PM Modi wore a jacket made from recycled plastic bottles. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wore a sleeveless sky-blue jacket in the Parliament. But, it was no ordinary jacket, the Nehru jacket that was gifted to him by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) during the India Energy Week in Bengaluru on February 6 was made using material recycled from plastic bottles.

"These huge efforts of India towards green growth and energy transition also reflect our values. Circular economy, in a way, is a part of the lifestyle of every Indian. The mantra of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle has been ingrained in our values. Today, we got to see an example of this here. You have seen uniforms made by recycling plastic waste bottles. It does not lack anywhere as far as the world of fashion and beauty is concerned. The target of recycling 100 million such bottles every year will go a long way in protecting the environment," PM Modi had said.

At the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed to an ambitious five-part "Panchamrit" pledge, including reaching 500 GW of non-fossil electricity capacity, to generate half of all energy requirements from renewables, to reduce emissions by 1 billion tons by 2030.

India also aims to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent. Finally, India commits to net-zero emissions by 2070. Notably, India banned several single-use plastics starting in July 2022. Single-use plastics are typically items that are discarded after being used only once and do not go through the recycling process.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)