Aarushie Verma, a national level shooter in Pistol & trap shooting, a multi-time State
& Northern India Champion & National medalist, and an active environmentalist,
has been selected to represent India at the 2041 ClimateForce Antarctica Expedition
to be held in March 2022.
The expedition aims to raise awareness & work for the preservation of Antarctica
through the promotion of recycling, renewable energy, and sustainability solutions
to combat the effects of climate change. 2041ClimateForce is a global initiative to
train & develop the next generation of sustainability champions and help
corporations with their sustainability solutions.
Selected from among thousands of applicants from around the world, the
participants of the expedition will comprise scientists, sustainability leaders and
practitioners from different regions of the world, who will journey to the south pole
on the most dynamic Antarctic sea expedition, a unique 12-day educational journey
by ship to the ‘last great wilderness on earth’.
The ‘carbon negative’ expedition aims to inspire, develop and train the next
generation of leaders to promote a more sustainable future. The expedition includes
the renowned ‘Leadership on the edge’ program which is a unique blend of
leadership development, up-to-date climate change training, and sustainability
education.
Antarctica is truly the perfect setting for this expedition. Antarctica has never
known war, belongs to no nation, and is home to no tribe or indigenous race – we
are all responsible for Antarctica. The key to this mission is to promote the use of
renewable energy across the globe. If we can do this effectively, then it will not make
financial sense for the world to exploit this continent. Antarctica is a symbol, frozen
in time, which represents our united responsibility to steer humanity towards a
more hopeful future.
The ClimateForce initiative is also a 7-year commitment to clean up 360 million tons
of CO2 from the atmosphere through strategic offsetting partnerships. ‘2041
ClimateForce’ is derived from the original year in which the Madrid Protocol
protecting Antarctica from exploitation would come up for debate, revision, and/ or
possible cancellation.
The core 50-year mission of 2041 ClimateForce, which grows ever more critical by
the year, is to help preserve Antarctica by engaging businesses and communities on
climate science, personal leadership, renewable technologies, and the promotion of
measurable action plans surrounding sustainable development.
This Expedition is an opportunity for participants to connect with and learn from the
natural environments most affected by climate change, and to realize the urgent need for
real-world solutions to address these issues. There is no better teacher than the
immediacy of “being there”.
In this initiative, Aarushi will be fully supported & sponsored by The Hans
Foundation, a public charitable trust that works towards creating an equitable
society and work primarily for health, education, Livelihood & disaster relief
interventions in rural & underdeveloped areas in the country. The Hans foundation
firmly believes in the importance of women empowerment in the country &
promotes women leaders in all its initiatives and believes that disaster prevention
requires ecological balance and an attitude of stewardship towards the
environment. “The Hans Foundation, Mr. Manoj Bhargava & Ms. Shweta Rawat are
the major supporting pillars for my journey to Antarctica” says Aarushi.
Along with being a national-level shooter and a post-graduate in environment
science & interior design, Aarushie has been actively working and volunteering with
NGOs like Center for Science & environment & Chintan. In 2017, She had conducted
a soap recycling project, where she collected used soap bars from hotels and
sanitized & recycled them into new bars and distributed them to kids at Anganwadis
along with educating them about the importance of hand hygiene.
The participants of the expedition will graduate as ‘Ambassadors for the Antarctic’
charged with making a stand in the fight against anthropogenic climate change
reinforced by the personal & professional network developed during & after the
expedition. Post expedition, Aarushi plans to focus on eco-friendly interior design
solutions and to promote recycling & use of renewable energy & sustainable
materials through her work and become a strong pillar for the 2041ClimateForce Team
