India’s G20 Presidency intends to bring an integrated, comprehensive and consensus driven approach to address climate change and pursue sustainable growth :Bhupender Yadav

Union Minister for Environment ,Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav has said India’s climate policy is directed towards sustainable development and poverty eradication, while striving continuously to decouple emissions from growth and achieve energy efficiency across sectors. Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi today on the issue of ‘The Next Step for Climate Smart Policies’ he said as we enter the third year of UN Critical Decade of Action, with just seven years remaining to achieve the 17 sustainable development goals, under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi drafting and ensuring execution of Climate Smart Policies has taken centre stage in India. He said Climate Smart Policies are a very Indian way of life, the term Sustainable Development may be new. However, the concept is knitted into Indian ethos

ईशा वास्यमिदं सर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत्‌।

तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम्‌ || (ईशोपनिषद् Verse १)

īśā vāsyamidaṁ sarvaṁ yatkiñca jagatyāṁ jagat |

tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasyasviddhanam ||

(Know that all things in this moving world are enveloped by God.

Therefore, find your enjoyment in renunciation, do not covet what belongs to others.)

Shri Yadav said Bharatiya ethos has underlined: take from Nature no more than you need. For Nature exists to satiate human need, not greed. We are people who use less, we are people who reuse what we use. Circular economy is part of Indian culture.The Minister said it is because Indians are Pro Planet People that the Nation, with more than 17% of the global population, has contributed only about 4% to the global cumulative greenhouse gas emissions between 1850 and 2019 against the 60% contributed by developed nations. Even today, India’s per capita emissions are less than one third of world’s per capita GHG Emissions.

Shri Yadav said globally India stands 4th in terms of installed renewable energy capacity, 4th in terms of wind installed capacity, 5th in terms of solar installed capacity. In just the last 9 years, installed capacity of solar energy in India has increased by more than 23 times. He said he was proud to share that India’s installed renewable energy capacity has increased 396% in the last 8.5 years.The Minister said these numbers are proof of the fact that Climate Smart Policy is the front and centre of India’s development paradigm. India has emerged as a global example on how development and conservation of environment can go hand in hand.

Shri Yadav said as India assumes the G20 Presidency, it does so leading by example. He said under the leadership of our Prime Minister Shri Modi India achieved its initial NDC submitted in 2015 which were already ambitious in nature, 9 years before the deadline and became the only G20 member to do so. He said not only have we achieved our NDC target before deadline but we have also submitted our updated NDC which seeks to achieve even more ambitious targets along with our Long Term Low Emission Development Strategy Plans at COP 27 in Sharm El Sheikh. With this India has joined the list of select 58 countries who have submitted their new or updated LT-LEDS, he added.

Shri Yadav said our Long Term Low Emission Development Strategy document is premised on two major pillars of climate justice and sustainable lifestyles alongside principles of CBDR-RC. He said combating climate change cuts across several verticals where a coordinated and integrated approach serves as an effective tool for a tangible change at the grassroots. India’s G20 Presidency on similar lines, intends to bring an integrated, comprehensive and consensus driven approach to address climate change and pursue sustainable growth.

Shri Yadav said Climate Smart Policies act as a policy tool for specific action for sustainable development. It is unfortunate that the world learnt about the concept of Sustainability the hard way. He said we are now witness to how mindless consumption and unplanned development has jeopardized food and energy security across many a nation. He said there are developing countries that are reeling under the menace of unsustainable debt and at the same time are also victims of unsustainable consumption and production processes of the developed world.

The Minister said in the recently concluded first Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group meeting of G20 in Bengaluru, apart from priority topics focusing on Land Degradation, Circular Economy and Blue Economy, delegates from G20 countries also deliberated on Accelerating Climate Action, Science and Gaps. These discussions will play a significant role in providing valuable inputs towards G20 ministerial level meeting in Chennai. He said in keeping with India’s inclusive vision for the G20, he was happy to note the introduction of the ‘G20 Global Research Forum’, which aims to bring together stakeholders and thinkers from G20 and non-G20 countries to add new voices and ideas that would invigorate conversations around the key priorities of the G20.

Talking about the 2023-2024 Union Budget Shri Yadav said it serves as a strong foundation for building a Green India.He said by earmarking ‘Saptarishi’ priority areas, targeted efforts have been set into motion to empower every citizen through green and sustainable growth. He said with its primary focus on inducing behavioural change, the green credit programme introduced in the Green Budget is being designed to help mitigate climate change, build adaptive capacity and improve the overall state of the environment. Under the scheme, the government will incentivise companies, individuals and local bodies that adhere to sustainable practises under the Environment (Protection) Act and help mobilize additional resources for such activities.

Similarly, the outlay of Rs 19,700 crore to National Hydrogen Mission will be instrumental in boosting the production of green hydrogen which will be significant in the decarbonisation pathway of the country, particularly the core sectors such as refineries, coal and steel plants ,he added.

Shri Yadav said the budget has made key declarations affirming its vision for ‘Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE)’, ‘Panchamrit’ and net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. The green growth provisions outlined in the budget place the country on a steadfast path to meeting its sustainability goals.

The Minister said the theme for India’s G20 Presidency: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – One Earth, One Family, One Future – reimagines the world as a family with shared interest and a common future. It underscores the need to join efforts to face challenges and create a better world order. Mission LiFE is a clarion call given by Prime Minister in the same spirit, underpinning the need to bring individual efforts at the forefront of global climate action. He said a  one-word mass movement LiFE has been gaining wide traction, as was witnessed at the India Pavilion in Egypt at COP27, across the globe. He said it has also received appreciation from academic experts and political leaders who have lauded the visionary nature of the movement.

Shri Yadav said today India is spearheading one of the most ambitious clean energy transitions in the world. Apart from resolutely addressing climate change domestically, for the world India has created and will continue to nurture the International Solar Alliance (ISA) which is Prime Minister Modi Ji’s vision to bring clean and affordable energy within the reach of all, and enhance international collaboration with countries abundant in solar potential.

The Minister said further working on the similar lines, the PM launched “Green Grids Initiative – One Sun, One World, One Grid” during COP 26 for availability of clean energy from a world-wide grid everywhere at all times and reducing the need for storage and increase in viability of solar projects. He said Initiatives like Lead IT and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), which has been approved as an ‘International Organization’ by the Union Cabinet, testifies India’s leadership at global stage. He said the initiatives show India’s seriousness in making Climate Smart Policies a global framework for policy.

The Minister said not everything is bad about Climate Change, at least the term has taught us that even the best of Climate, which was considered a given, ‘Changes’, if abused beyond a point. He said in the last decade or so this change has become alarmingly perceptible. He said he would like to remind , especially friends from the Global North, that we must understand that this crisis is starkly different from other global crisis of trade and finance and therefore traditional responses and the tendency of profiteering from a disaster need to shunned. He said Greenwashing, abrogating historical responsibilities and protectionism in the name of Climate Action need to be stopped.

Shri Yadav said he does not want  to impose an opinion but to kindle an aspiration. He said an aspiration that yes we can work collectively and give to ourselves and our future generations, from Nauru to Russia, from Burundi to United States of America, a greener and cleaner world. He said he was  confident that through its G20 presidency, India will work with its partners to put forward a coherent roadmap for climate action and sustainable development which puts the concerns of the Global South at the centre when it comes to making Climate Smart Policies, domestically and globally.