India’s minister for environment, forests and climate change said that the climate change phenomenon is deeply unfair as those who contributed least to it from developing countries will be most severely hit by the impact of global warming.
Speaking at the concluding session of the G20 Joint Environment and Climate Ministers Meeting (JECMM), India’s minister for environment, forest and climate change Bhupender Yadav underlined the need to work for stronger recovery and resilience across globe, leaving no one behind especially most vulnerable sections of the society. He reminded that this is at the heart of the 2030 agenda of sustainable development.
JECMM had concluded on Wednesday with officials of the 20 major world economies struggling to agree to a joint communique text with objections over language of the text and climate targets.
Yadav said that sustainable recovery should also lead towards sustainable development goals. In his address he stressed that while climate change is a global phenomenon, its negative impacts are more severely felt by the poor and vulnerable especially in the developing countries. There is high dependence on natural resources but the capacity to cope with climate variability and extreme is limited. Climate change phenomenon is deeply unfair. Those who contributed least to it from developing countries will be most severely hit by the impact of global warming.
Any initiative to address the contemporary environmental challenge should therefore be on the basis of Equity and principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities & Respective Capabilities in the light of the national circumstances and priorities.
India will assume the G20 Presidency from 1st December 2022 culminating in the G20 summit in 2023. The Minister informed that as under the Indonesian Presidency, there will be meetings side events, workshops, seminars, and site visits across different cities in of the country during India’s G20 Presidency.
Yadav spoke of Prime Minister Modi’s LIFE mantra for sustainable development as revealed during his November 2021 address at the World Leaders Summit at COP 26. LiFE, an acronym for Lifestyle For Environment, Modi had said, will help move away from mindless and destructive consumption to mindful and deliberate utilisation.
The environment minister opined that India’s effort towards the clean energy and energy security low carbon and efficient industrial growth, sustainable agriculture and low carbon living affirm India’s commitment to a transformative shift towards sustainable lifestyle for all.
“We need to redefine prosperity to ensure affordable, servable and sustainable lifestyle for all,” he said, emphasising that sustainability requires coordinated action for the global commons. “India stands for a ‘whole of the world’ approach that recognizes the interdependence of countries, economies and communities,” he said.
