National Sportswoman Selected For Climate-Force Antarctica Expedition

New Delhi (India), March 7: 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 Climate Force 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. 2041 Climate Force is a global initiative to train & develop the next generation of sustainability champions and to help corporations with their sustainability solutions.

Selected from among thousands of applicants from around the world, the participants of the expedition will comprise of 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 Climate Force initiative is also a 7-year commitment to clean up 360 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere through strategic offsetting partnerships. ‘2041 Climate Force’ 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 Climate Force, 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, Aarushie 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 Aarushie.

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, Aarushie 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 2041 Climate Force Team.