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 www.indiaatcop22.org

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 (@ 98.915 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. 54000 tonnes of CO2 per annum Projected swell in urban population (due to rural out-migration) mean increasing levels of PET bottle usage www.indiaatcop22.org

Say YES to CYCLING Say NO to PET INDIA@COP22 Bihar’s two-pronged, low investment intervention aimed at public participation towards mitigation of CO2 emissions: Say YES to CYCLING Say NO to PET www.indiaatcop22.org

Promoting cycling as a green transport alternative INDIA@COP22 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 2016-17. www.indiaatcop22.org

Reducing the use of plastic INDIA@COP22 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.   www.indiaatcop22.org

INDIA@COP22 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. www.indiaatcop22.org