Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Paris on Sunday to take part in climate change talks, where, among other things, India and France will jointly host a meeting of an international solar alliance to accelerate the development of solar power.
Mr. Modi set the stage for the Paris talks with his Mann Ki Baat address in the morning, in which he called for energy conservation to combat climate change and shared the story of a Kanpur woman, Noor Jahan, who has been lighting 500 homes with solar lanterns.
He said she, along with other women, set up a plant to make solar lanterns and rented these lanterns to people at Rs.100 a month. He added that 500 households used the lanterns at night and got them charged again in the day. “Big people must be doing a lot on climate change in the world but Noor Jahan has something that is an inspiration,” he said.
“The whole world is worried about climate change,” Mr. Modi said. “The earth should not be allowed to heat up further. This is everyone’s responsibility, as also worry. And the first way to avoid global warming is energy conservation.”
>>> Full coverage of Paris Climate Summit
