Copenhagen talks inspire Bundelkhand villagers for eco-friendly wedding

Jhansi, Dec.15 (ANI): It may appear a very small attempt but the Copenhagen Climate summit has inspired a village family in Bundelkhand region to avoid carbon emission and thus contribute to environmental cause during a wedding ceremony here.

These villagers opted to turn eco-friendly, as they chose bullock carts over motor vehicles, and planted trees before every ritual on Monday.

They avoided use of bursting of fireworks, which is usual on Indian marriages among Hindus and many other communities. It was done to avoid air pollution.

Moreover, even the wedding was held during the day in place of night to avoid the use of lights, which are operated by a generator.

"All the countries are worried as to how to tackle this problem (global warming). Talks are being held in Copenhagen. So, hailing from a farmer's family in Bundelkhand, we wondered how could we contribute our bit towards reducing carbon emissions. Through this marriage, we want to show how to reduce carbon emissions. We made use of bullock carts instead of motor vehicles, and we have avoided the use of any such thing that uses petrol or diesel," said Brajesh Singh, one of the guests at the wedding venue.

Bundelkhand has witnessed a lot of natural calamities in the recent years be it drought or floods leading to many poor farmers to commit suicide.

Many larger developing countries, such as China and India, say they are taking voluntary steps to curb the growth of their emissions, such as increased use of renewable energy and imposing energy efficiency standards.

India issued a national climate change policy last year and pledged to boost its renewable energy use as part of "ambitious" domestic actions to control emissions.

But cheap coal will remain central to India's energy mix for at least the next two decades. The share of renewable energy in the country's energy basket is about only eight percent.

In Copenhagen, representatives from 192 countries, have converged for the biggest climate talks in history.

The U.N. says any Copenhagen deal must contain ambitious emission cuts by rich nations, financing pledges for poorer nations and steps by major developing countries to curb their greenhouse gas pollution.

But negotiators are struggling to reach an agreement on the depth of emission cuts needed to slow down the pace of climate change and are worried about the cost to economies of the developing nations and the already developed nations. By Amit Verma (ANI)