PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Energy is Everything and Everything is Energy. Gandhiji’s statement that

“Earth has enough for everybody’s need but not for anybody’s greed” is as fundamental

as the fact Sun rising from the East. However, in contradiction, the world economies are

increasingly trying to produce more and consume more. This contradiction is fuelled

mainly by fossil energy (80-85%), leading to another contradiction wherein increasing

energy consumption is required to maintain economic growth, while rampant use of fossil

energy is causing climate change.

The climate change is threatening not only sustainable life but the sustainability of life on

the planet. We have only 8-10 years left, before we reach global warming of 1.5oC (IPCC

report). Therefore “drastic” and “immediate” actions are required to mitigate climate

change. The solution lies in adopting Energy Swaraj or generating and consuming energy

locally. Adopting to Energy Swaraj will also help in skill development, livelihood creation,

energy independence, local economy strengthening, and of course, climate change

mitigation. In order to create a public movement and establish Energy Swaraj across, a

11 years long Energy Swaraj Yatra (2020-30) through a solar bus is undertaken by Prof.

Chetan S. Solanki, IIT Bombay.

The talk covers philosophical, technical, economic, social and environmental aspects

of energy and climate change, Energy Swaraj as a solution, and demonstration of Energy

Swaraj bus having facilities for working, meeting sleeping, cooking, washing and training.