Climate threat real, lifestyle must change: PM

Ahead of his trip to Germany to attend the G-8 summit where global warming is expected to be a key issue, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday voiced concern over climate change threat and said unless people change their lifestyles, 'our future will be at peril'.

"The threat of climate change is real and unless we alter our lifestyles and pursue a sustainable model of development, our future will be at peril", he said in a message on World Environment Day. Recalling Mahatma Gandhi's words that 'our planet has enough to meet everyone's need but not everyone's greed', Singh said it was incumbent upon all to think of future generations and the very future of the planet each time people undertook an act of consumption.

India

was committed to pursuing environmentally sustainable development strategies, he said, adding "while we have a long way to go in meeting the aspirations of our people and while we must rid our country of the scourge of poverty, ignorance and disease, we should do so in a manner that is environmentally sustainable".

The challenge before the people is to protect the environment and ensure the well-being of future generations, "even as we seek to accelerate the pace of economic growth, pursue industrialization and the modernization of agriculture and improve the quality of life of our people".

The prime minister urged the people to come forward with creative and innovative ideas on how to meet this challenge.