Lucknow :

Here is a proud moment, not only for the city but the entire country. Nineteen-year-old Lucknow girl, Yugratna Srivastava, has been selected to interview UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon at the ongoing climate summit Conference of Parties, COP21 in Paris. Yugratna will interview him at the `Earth to Paris’ event slated on December 7 at Petit Palais.

“I am the only youth to have got the opportunity to interview the UN secretary-general. The best part was a mail (from UN secretary-general’s office in New York) which said they can’t imagine a better person than me to do this interview,” an elated Yugratna told TOI from Paris via social media. The interview, said Yugratna, would be on the Ban’s views on climate change and about negotiations taking place at COP21 and related issues.

“I will be soon briefed on the topics which I should cover in my interview from the secretary-general’s office,”she said. On the opening day at COP21, Yugratna made a presentation to world leaders, including PM Narendra Modi and US president Barack Obama. Prior to COP21, she attended the conference of youths, held from November 26 to 28. Here, her job was to prepare youth from 66 countries to talk about climate change before the world leaders at COP21.

“Youths participating in the conference gave presentations on `climate crisis’ and concerns about environment conservation,” said Yugratna. So, how did she made it to COP21? “I have work experience at the world-level programme, ‘climate strike’. This programme is to put a check on economical and ecological destruction, and to promote green alternatives. I was one of the eight in the core team. I guess this helped me to be part of COP21,” said she. Six years ago, Yugratna became the youngest person to address as many as 100 world leaders at the 2009 United Nation summit on climate change in New York.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / by Shailvee Sharma, TNN / December 07th, 2015