Hindu leaders in the UK have joined hands with Prince Philip and the UN to launch 'Bhumi Project', an action plan to engage the community in the global fight against climate change.

According to the Oxford University Centre, the Bhumi Project for the plan was launched on Saturday after a three-way meeting between Hindu leaders, Prince Philip, husband of the Queen, and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as part of this week's environmental summit at Windsor Castle, attended by over 200 faith leaders from nine major world religions.

The meeting was called by the UN Development Programme and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, a secular body founded by Prince Philip to help world religions develop their own environmental programmes.

Over the next nine years, the Bhumi Project will implement a series of initiatives to help Hindus engage in environmental action to better care for the planet, Oxford University's Centre for Hindu Studies said in a statement yesterday.

"Hindu tradition and history is replete with stories and references to 'bhumi', to mother earth, and we want to help Hindus re-learn these sacred teachings and few new relevance for them in the modern world," said Centre director Shaunaka Rishi Das, who helped formulate the project.

Specific proposals include educating members of Hindu communities on best environmental practice; developing a Hindu labelling scheme for a range of products and services; helping all Hindu places of worship employ the highest standards of environmental practice and partnering with conservation projects in India such as those involved in cleaning river Ganges.