1. INDIA @ COP 22 Tackling climate change in Bihar:
Initiatives in Non-Motorized Transport &
Plastic Waste to Mitigate Co2 Emissions
Vivek Kumar Singh I.A.S.
Principal Secretary, Environment & Forest Department
Government of Bihar
Sustainable Lifestyle = Positive Climate Action

2. Immediate Challenges INDIA@COP22
Motivating Bihar’s urban and semi-urban population to adopt greener transport alternatives instead of motorized vehicles
Use of cycles could lead to drastic reduction of CO2 emissions kg per cycle per year)
Discouraging the use of PET bottles at the household level in urban areas
5% of the state’s urban population, approximately 1.65 million people, currently use non-biodegradable PET bottles, requiring 9000 tonnes of plastic leading to the emission of approx tonnes of CO2 per annum
Projected swell in urban population (due to rural out-migration) mean increasing levels of PET bottle usage

3. Say YES to CYCLING Say NO to PET
Bihar’s two-pronged, low investment intervention aimed at public participation towards mitigation of CO2 emissions:
Say YES to CYCLING
Say NO to PET

4. Promoting cycling as a green transport alternative
Promoting cycling as a green
transport alternative
Several incentive and prize schemes, including cycle rallies, have been launched in cities across Bihar, promoting the use of cycles to save the environment.
Mass media campaigns have been launched to spread awareness and increase uptake of cycling as a clean transport alternative.
The state government aims to distribute 100,000 cycles across the state over

5. Reducing the use of plastic
Reducing the use of plastic
The state’s Environment & Forest Department has banned the use of PET bottles in all official functions.
The Department has launched a public mass media campaign to discourage the use of PET bottles.  

6.
Way Ahead
The success of Bihar’s two-pronged action plan to reduce the state’s carbon footprint hinges on the complete cooperation and participation of the civil society.
The state government has also launched incentivized agroforestry and “Har Parisar-Hara Parisar” schemes to increase tree cover beyond forest areas and encourage private lands conservation.