Insights from the International Climate Change

Vishal Shukla, from Lucknow, recently returned after participating in the 'International Climate Change and Air Pollution Media Conference' held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, following a 10-day trip to Malaysia. The event was organised at the Sunway University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Senior environmental activists, environmental journalists, and intellectuals from various countries such as Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, England, Singapore, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, among others, participated in this international conference. They have been working through media channels for a long time to raise awareness among people about the deteriorating situation of climate change worldwide.

Vishal mentioned that what was special about this climate change conference was that experts presented their presentations on many unnoticed aspects of climate change, and people were also informed about it through documentary films. The conference highlighted how climate change is adversely affecting underprivileged and developing countries, causing impacts such as early marriages of girls, seasonal displacement, effects on marginalised communities due to heatwaves, crop losses, rising sea levels, and the impact of air pollution on newborns. At present, the air a newborn breathes contains pollution equivalent to 8 cigarettes. Developed countries should step up for this and fulfill their commitments made for the climate fund at the Paris Climate Convention, providing assistance to developing countries in combating it.

Vishal mentioned that he was invited among environmental activists and journalists from around the world after a rigorous selection process and was informed in February to participate in it. Originally from Shahjahanpur, Vishal has received higher education from prestigious institutions like the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi, and St. Stephen's, New Delhi. He has also cleared the UGC-NET exam twice in Mass Communication and Journalism. Currently, he is actively engaged with a podcasting platform. Additionally, he was recently invited by the Institute of Human Sciences, Vienna (Austria), to discuss 'Climate Change-Induced Displacement'. Eight speakers were invited to the program, including Vishal, all from various academic backgrounds and from top institutions worldwide, such as the University of California, Davis, University of Illinois, Chicago, University of California, Davis, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. In this, he was supposed to present his views on 'Insights from my Environmental News Reporting: Exploring Climate-Induced Migration.'

Moreover, Vishal has been previously honoured by prestigious national and international organisations such as the Russian Embassy in New Delhi, TERI, the Indian School of Business, Rotary Club International, and the Earth Journalism Network.