Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. We are faced now with the fact that tomorrow is today... Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: Too late.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

The urgency to address the environmental concerns has probably never been greater. Nation states across the world are striving hard to come to a consensus on ways and methods to reduce their ecological footprint and move towards a low carbon economy. According to 2010 State of the World Report (published by The Worldwatch Institute), the Ecological Footprint Indicator, which compares the impact of human actions on the ecology with the natural resources available to supply key ecosystem services, shows that humanity now uses the resources and services of 1.3 Earths. In other words, people, if they continue living the way they are, would require a third more of the Earth's capacity than is available to sustain themselves.

One of the most disconcerting trends of the last two decades has been the amplification in global temperatures due to unplanned and unsustainable economic development, which has led to climate change and vulnerabilities. Climate Change is resulting in unpredictable natural occurrences and events causing unprecedented social, cultural, and economic upheaval and damage. For example, the rising sea levels in Tuvalu, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, and the Maldives threaten to inundate not only human habitats but cultures, histories, memories, and aspirations of some of the oldest human communities. On the other hand, in Africa, an estimated 10 million people have migrated or been displaced over the last two decades mainly because of environmental degradation and desertification.

In this context, it becomes imperative to find solutions to deal with the wide array of environmental challenges. There is a need for governments, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and every individual on this planet to come together to protect the only planet where life is possible.

TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) was formally established in 1974 with the very purpose of tackling and dealing with the immense and acute problems that mankind is likely to face in the years ahead on account of the gradual depletion of the earth's finite energy resources which are largely non-renewable and on account of the existing methods of their use which are polluting. Consequently, TERI has created an environment that is enabling, dynamic and inspiring for the development of solutions to global problems in the fields of energy, environment and current patterns of development.

Youth has been one of the key target groups of TERI. The Institute recognizes the importance of inculcating amongst them a sense of respect and responsibility towards the environment. This makes training and sensitizing students and teachers an important step in this direction. TERI's Educating Youth for Sustainable Development (EYSD) division, with a dedicated and experienced professional team, has been conducting outreach events on environmental issues in schools, colleges and communities for a decade.
The programmes run by the division address key environmental themes like water, waste, biodiversity, Climate Change, energy and sustainable development. The objective is to create awareness on these issues and inspire the youth to be a part of solutions to local and global environmental challenges.

The EYSD division collaborates with a wide range of funders and partners to encourage youth action for the conservation of environment. Various ministries in the government of India, like the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports have been steadfastly supporting the division in the implementation of its projects. Besides, corporates like Tetra Pak India Pvt Ltd, Dell Computers, Hewlett Packard, Accenture and Hero Moto Corp Ltd have also come forward to encourage environment education interventions in various parts of the country. The division also works closely with organizations like the British Council and RCE-UNU, UNESCO and DESD to sensitize youth on key aspects of environmental citizenship in addition to the partner organizations such as Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, Army School Education Trust, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan etc.