CSE’s annual media conclave and Anil Agarwal Dialogue 2020 inaugurated by Ashok Gehlot, chief minister of Rajasthan

Over 75 journalists and 30 speakers from all over India attending the event at CSE’s AAETI campus in Nimli (Alwar) 

New Delhi/Nimli, February 9, 2020: Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) annual media conclave and Anil Agarwal Dialogue 2020 was inaugurated here today by Ashok Gehlot, the chief minister of Rajasthan. The conclave, which has brought together journalists and environmental experts from all over India, is being held at CSE’s state-of-the-art residential environmental training facility, the Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute (AAETI), in Nimli, Alwar district, Rajasthan. 

The chief minister, who was welcomed at AAETI by CSE director general Sunita Narain and her senior colleagues, also released CSE and Down To Earth magazine’s Annual State of India’s Environment Report 2020 on this occasion. He visited an exhibition in the campus which showcased the ‘green’ features of AAETI. 

Speaking at the conclave, Gehlot said: “I am impressed by the AAETI campus CSE has built. Anil Agarwal (the late founder-director of CSE) was a man committed to the cause of environment, and Sunita Narain has followed in his footsteps and maintained the commitment towards creating a better tomorrow.” 

Pointing out that much more needed to be done, Gehlot informed about some of the more recent steps that the Rajasthan government has taken and is contemplating to take the state on to a ‘green’ path. He announced that Rajasthan is going to, shortly, have a new environment policy – in which CSE’s inputs would be welcome. The CM has already announced a solar and wind energy policy for the state: he said his aim was to make Rajasthan a solar power hub. 

The inaugural, which was steered by Narain, was also addressed by Raj Chengappa, Group Editorial Director of the India Today Group (see the complete AAD 2020 agenda at https://www.cseindia.org/anil-agarwal-dialogue-2020-9765). 

CSE has a long-established tradition of working closely with the media across India. In 2019, the Centre had organised its first annual media conclave, which was inaugurated by former Supreme Court judge Madan Lokur (please visit this link for details of the 2019 conclave: https://www.cseindia.org/page/aad-gallery). 

The aim of these conclaves, says CSE director general Sunita Narain, is to “bring together journalists and writers interested in covering environment and development issues, with some of the country’s top experts who have been studying these issues, on to a common platform to discuss and understand the year’s most significant developments and concerns”. 

Spread over three days from February 9 to 11, the 2020 media conclave will have seven key sessions on the following subjects – climate change, air pollution and sustainable mobility, renewable energy, food, solid waste management, and forests and wildlife. 

Besides the State of India’s Environment 2020, CSE will release another report called Breathing Space on this occasion -- this is CSE’s latest publication focused on air pollution action in the country. Bhure Lal, chairperson, Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), will unveil this report on February 10. 

For more details, please contact: Sukanya Nair, The CSE Media Resource Centre, sukanya.nair@cseindia.org / +91-8816818864