By IANS
Chennai : Three Indian children are among a group of young climate change activists from a dozen countries who are meeting in London to work on an urgent message to world leaders, the British Council said Tuesday.
Jaswanth Madhavan from Chennai, Karan Sehgal from Delhi and Nidhi U. Patel from Vadodara are in London Monday to Saturday to present a call to action – ‘The Kobe Challenge’ – to environment ministers at their G8 meeting in Japan in May.
The Kobe Challenge is part of the British Council’s International Climate Champions initiative, where participants put across their views and ideas for the high-level meet in Japan.
While in London, they will discuss their concerns and aspirations with MP Hilary Benn, secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, at 10 Downing Street Wednesday, the British Council said in a press release.
The children, India’s ‘International Climate Champions’ will also explore climate change issues with experts, including John Harman, chairman of the Environment Agency.
The visit will also involve trips to the Thames Barrier and Greater London Authority to probe the predicted impact of and solutions to rising sea levels that will affect cities worldwide like London, Mumbai, New York and Kobe.
“Climate change is an unprecedented challenge and one that affects us all. Unfortunately, it is the youth of today who will inherit its potentially devastating impact for decades to come. This is an opportunity for young people to address shared challenges such as those posed by climate change,” British Council chief executive Martin Davidson said in the statement.
The International Climate Champions initiative is part of the British Council’s three-year ‘Low Carbon Futures’ programme of activities to provide an international platform for young people, local partners and world leaders to build an international consensus around action on climate change.