NE ENVIRONMENT BUREAU
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN, NOV 15
Sadhguru, founder of the Save Soil Movement, is currently participating in the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. Despite medical advice against travel, Sadhguru accepted the invitation, committing to a brief yet impactful trip to address soil revitalization and climate change. Launched by Sadhguru in 2022, the Save Soil Movement aims to address the urgent soil crisis by rallying global support for soil health and encouraging leaders worldwide to enact policies that increase organic matter in agricultural soils.
- Despite medical advice against travel, Sadhguru accepted the invitation and committed to a brief but impactful trip to address soil revitalization and climate change
- Earlier ahead of the conference, Save Soil Movement, shared policy recommendations with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- The recommendations have been endorsed by 77 prominent global organisations, marking a significant milestone in the movement’s impact.
Leading a global push for soil regeneration, Sadhguru is meeting prominent leaders at COP29 to promote soil health as a critical solution to climate change. In his interactions, he is also addressing key issues around farmer livelihoods and food security—essential components in tackling climate challenges.
Speaking on soil degradation, Sadhguru described, “Soil degradation is a serious, serious thing. But no talk about it; only in the last two COPs we have been pushing for it and at least we are talking about a ‘Green World. When we say green world, we are not thinking of repainting fresh paint on the planet; we are thinking of more green leaves because every fresh green leaf that we put, every extra green leaf that we put on the planet is one small step towards climate mitigation,” he said.
“When we talk about ecology, when we talk about climate, we must understand this is not just about human life, human sustenance, human lifestyles. No, all life should thrive because our life is like the cream life; without the milk being strong, there is no cream. If the microbial life, insect life, worm life and every other small life doesn’t live strong, we will not live strong,” reminded Sadhguru.
While acknowledging the importance of addressing fossil fuels in the climate conversation, Sadhguru noted, “We are continuously talking about eliminating fossil fuels. Yes, it must happen. The shift needs to take place. But it is not going to happen just because we wish so. There have to be significant technological innovations. The world is not going to give up oil simply because you or I say it is not good. Substantive alternatives have to emerge.”
Earlier ahead of the conference, Save Soil Movement, shared policy recommendations with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These recommendations bring attention to climate finance — funding specifically aimed at supporting projects that tackle climate issues — with a focus on agricultural soil regeneration. The recommendations have been endorsed by 77 prominent global organisations, marking a significant milestone in the movement’s impact.
The Conscious Planet – Save Soil movement aims to bring attention to the catastrophic soil degradation facing humanity, and initiate and support government policy change in all 193 nations to revitalize soil. In March 2022, Sadhguru undertook an arduous 100-day, 30,000-km journey as a lone motorcyclist across 27 nations, meeting government leaders, influencers, and the general public reaching 4 billion people. The movement has proposed a three-pronged strategy to revitalise agricultural soil. This includes: incentivising farmers to increase organic matter, making carbon credits accessible to them, and giving preference in the market to produce grown in soil with higher organic matter.
The movement has already demonstrated significant success through initiatives like Cauvery Calling, which has helped over 229,000 farmers shift to tree-based agriculture, boosting their incomes by 3 to 8 times. Additionally, the movement has trained 27,000 farmers in regenerative practices.
