Bhubaneswar: Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati on Monday called upon the state’s youth to take the lead in building climate-resilient communities and promoting green development, saying the younger generation must move beyond discussing problems and become architects of solutions.
Inaugurating the Odisha Conference of Youth (OCOY) 4.0 at XIM University in Jatni, Kambhampati said Odisha’s future needs a capable young force that can shape it through innovation, action and responsibility.
Recalling his call at last year’s conference for youth to become builders of climate resilience, the Governor said the next step was to ensure that young people do not remain passive recipients of policy but actively develop solutions to emerging challenges.
“If the energy and creativity of the youth can be channelled into positive action, the goal of Viksit Bharat @2047 will become a reality,” he said.
Climate change is no longer a distant warning, Kambhampati said, pointing to heatwaves, erratic rainfall, floods, cyclones and rising sea levels that are already affecting agriculture and livelihoods.
He said climate resilience should not be viewed merely as an environmental responsibility but as a duty towards human dignity and future generations.
Referring to Odisha’s experience in managing cyclones and floods and its efforts in forest and biodiversity conservation, the Governor said the focus must now shift from disaster preparedness alone to building climate-resilient communities.
He cited youth-led initiatives such as the Seed Ball programme in Phulbani, tree plantation drives in Jatni and Khalkote, the Blue Flag Beach initiative in Puri and climate awareness efforts in Similipal as examples of grassroots action that could bring wider change.
Kambhampati urged the youth to make the principles of “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” and Mission LiFE part of their everyday lives.
Calling for a “Mission 30 by 30”, he asked young people to take climate resilience programmes to every district of Odisha by 2030 and combine local knowledge and skills with science and technology to address district-specific environmental challenges.
He also urged participants in the three-day Youth Parliament and district-level discussions to prepare concrete blueprints for solutions rather than limiting themselves to deliberations.
The Governor said he hoped the programme would help create “ambassadors of sustainability, champions of climate resilience and representatives of change”.
Linking sustainable lifestyles with India’s energy security, Kambhampati also highlighted geopolitical tensions in West Asia and the country’s dependence on imported crude oil.
He called upon the youth to promote sustainable transportation and gradually shift towards electric vehicles, saying this would help reduce dependence on imported crude, strengthen energy security and ease pressure on foreign exchange.
The Governor also noted that electric vehicles have been included in his official fleet.
XIM University Vice-Chancellor K S Casimir SJ, Nexus Select Trust General Manager and ESG Ambassador Harsha Bharadwaj, UNICEF Odisha Field Office Chief Prashant Kumar Das and Sambhav co-founder Sabarmati Apa also addressed the event.
UNICEF Odisha WASH-CCES Specialist Sipra Saxena delivered the welcome address, while Youth4Water Plus Director Blorin Mohanty proposed the vote of thanks.
