Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Tuesday said the planet does not need people’s money but lifestyle modifications to overcome challenges like climate change. Wangchuk, an innovator and educational reformer based in Ladakh, cited recent events in the mountainous region in the north like flash floods, which illustrate the impact of climate change, and said these changes have been caused by people in big cities of the world. ”We want to appeal to the world to live simply so that we in the mountains can simply live,” Wangchuk said while addressing a G-20 event here. ”… the planet doesn’t need your money. It needs lifestyle change,” he added, describing a ‘crowdfunding’ project launched by his NGO where people ‘earn’ dollars for every commitment on lifestyle change, like walking or cycling in lieu of driving a car. He said so far, 23 million ‘green dollars’ have been collected by people under the initiative, but added that there is a need to do more. Climate finance has been made one of the key themes which India is pressing for during its ongoing G-20 presidency, wherein the local policymakers emphasise on not causing the climate crisis and look up to the developed world for help in financing the changes to be implemented in the developing countries.
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