Pune woman among four from India to attend climate meet in Egypt

Shevgaonkar (24) is one of the four Indians selected for the conference for their works in initiating impactful climate actions. They were shortlisted from among 300 people by United Nations Development Program, UNICEF and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Shevgaonkar is a founder of Cool The Globe – an app for climate action that motivates people to make small lifestyle changes. The app has 30,000 users from 110 countries and has collectively saved 2 million kg of greenhouse gas emissions — equivalent of planting about 1 lakh trees. “I am driven with a mission to help people answer a small question, ‘what can I do about climate change’. This app aims to help people reduce their carbon footprint….,” she said.

The others selected for the conference from India are Nikhilkumar Panchal from Ahmedabad as well as Elizabth Eapen from Pathanamthitta and Suhana R H from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

Eapen (22) has developed a waste reduction project for her college cafe through initiatives like “bring your own cup”, waste segregation in colour coded bins and installing water coolers in canteen. Panchal (24) is a founder of the start-up ‘Green Aadhar’, a digital infrastructure for plastic waste management sector. Suhana R H has initiated waste management at Karimadom slum in Thiruvananthapuram.

Shoko Noda, resident representative of UNDP India, said: “The youngsters have ideas, are innovating and finding scalable solutions. Their solutions-based approach inspires bolder climate action from people…”