Advocating for strong global cooperation
against climate change, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it must be ensured
that these actions don’t compromise the development priorities of the Global
South.
Prime Minister Modi, who is in Dubai for
the COP28 Climate Summit, spoke to UAE-based newspaper Aletihad.
The Indian Premiere said Bharat is the
only country that is on track to achieving its National Determined
Contributions or NDCs.
Regarding climate finance, PM Modi said he
has always maintained that climate change is a collective challenge that
demands a unified global response.
“It is essential to recognise that
developing countries have not contributed in the creation of the problem. Yet
developing countries are willing to be a part of the solution,” he added.
“But, they cannot contribute without
access to the financing and technology needed… I have therefore advocated
strongly for global cooperation for ensuring requisite climate financing and
technology transfer,” said PM Modi further.
The Prime Minister stressed that as
nations pursue climate action, it must be based on equity, climate justice,
shared obligations and shared capacities.
“By adhering to these principles, we can
forge a path toward a sustainable future that leaves no one behind,” he said.
He further stressed that “we must ensure that development priorities of the
Global South are not compromised”.
PM Modi also elaborated on multiple
initiatives being carried out by India in the direction.
Mission Lifestyle for Environment
(Mission LiFE), is an initiative to motivate the world to adopt an
environmentally friendly lifestyle, Aletihad reported.
“We have launched a Global Mission on
sustainable lifestyles – LiFE, Lifestyle for Environment – that promotes
sustainable consumption lifestyle changes and circular economy principles,” PM
Modi said.
He added, “My call for Mission LiFE is
based on a belief that a mass movement of pro-planet lifestyles and choices can
have a significant contribution towards global climate action”.
Bharat has conceptualised a mechanism to
incentivise voluntary, pro-planet actions that can effectively respond to
climate change, termed the “Green Credit Initiative”.
India announced its National Green
Hydrogen Mission in January 2023, with the aim to become a global hub for the
production, utilisation, and export of green hydrogen and its derivatives.
Recently, New Delhi also agreed to establish a joint Hydrogen Task Force to
help scale up technologies, with a special focus on green hydrogen production.
PM Modi said the country has a targeted
production of 5 MMTPA of green hydrogen by 2030.
PM Modi said the National Green Hydrogen
Mission requires 80 GW of electrolyser capacity and 125 GW of renewable energy,
with an estimated total investment of around USD 100 billion.
He further urged the “friends from the
UAE, who already have substantial investments in India’s renewable energy
sector, to invest in the green hydrogen sector in India”.
Prime Minister Modi emphasised that
climate action was one of the priority subjects during Bharat’s G20 Presidency
and was properly addressed in the New Delhi G20 Summit.
“I am happy that during the recent New
Delhi G20 Summit, this aspect has been properly addressed, including through a
recognition of the need to rapidly and substantially scale up investment and
climate finance from billions to trillions of dollars globally from all
sources,” PM Modi noted.
He said during Bharat’s G20 Presidency,
the country ensured that particular attention was paid to climate change and
climate action, reflected in the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration.
These include the Green Development
Pact, the G20 2023 Action Plan on Accelerating Progress of SDGs, the High-Level
Principles of Lifestyles for Sustainable Development, the High-Level Voluntary
Principles on Hydrogen, as well the institutionalisation of the Disaster Relief
Working Group, Prime Minister Modi said.
He added that over the last nine years,
India has demonstrated by example that the country is at the forefront of doing
its part to address climate change.
“At COP26, I presented ‘Panchamrit’ –
five ambitious commitments of India – as our contribution to global climate
action,” the Prime Minister said.
He said Bharat has translated its
promises into action and submitted its updated nationally determined
contributions (NDCs) prior to COP27, and submitted the Long Term-Low Emission
Development Strategy (LT-LEDS), which put forward its Net Zero pathways, during
COP27.
Noting that Bharat is the only country
achieving its NDC, PM Modi further said the climate outlook on global level is
not that positive. But, he affirmed hope that the COP28 Summit will energise
the global community towards achieving 2030 targets.
The PM added, “I hope that this event
will energise the global community to undertake a course correction and
redouble efforts to ensure that we return on track to achieve our 2030 targets”.
ANI
