Part of the problem is that major projects that could change people's habits — like changing a city's infrastructure to make it more convenient to get around with electric trams or trains over private cars — weren't part of Mission Life, said Sanjib Pohit, a senior fellow at the New Delhi-based National Council for Applied Economic Research.
Girish, who owns the plastic packaging business, said investing in making her company more efficient would mean high upfront costs, which is unaffordable for her without government support.
For nearly four years, India's government pushed an initiative to get people to think about how to make lifestyle choices that pollute less, like cycling instead of driving or using less plastic.
But the federal budget allotted no additional funds for energy conservation schemes or the regulatory bodies tasked with making India’s energy systems more efficient.
The Lifestyle for Environment Initiative — or Mission Life as it's more commonly known — was once championed by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior ministers as a major step toward the country's climate goals.
