New Delhi:
The countries which are speaking about ambitious climate goals and action for 2050 have not done enough about commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Wednesday.
The minister, in a series of tweets, informed that he spoke about the issue during the Environment Ministerial Meeting (EMM) of the G20 countries which took place on Wednesday through video conferencing under the Presidency of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“Told that countries who are today speaking on ambitious climate goals and action for 2050, haven’t done enough on #KyotoProtocol and also on commitments made at the #ParisAgreement,” Javadekar tweeted. He also said that India is committed to working with G20 nations and applauded the launch of global initiatives to reduce land degradation and protect coral reefs.
“At the #G20 Environment meeting stated that the world has to channel its best practices to deal with #ClimateChange. India is committed to working with G20 nations for a better world and applauds the launch of the Global Initiative to Reduce #LandDegradation & #CoralReef program,” the minister tweeted. “The global initiative on reducing land degradation aims to strengthen the implementation of existing frameworks to prevent, halt, and reverse land degradation within G20 member states and globally, taking into account possible implications on the achievement of other SDGs (sustainable development goals) and adhering to the principle of doing no harm,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Global Coral Reef R&D Accelerator Platform is an innovative action-oriented initiative aimed at creating a global research and development (R&D) program to advance research, innovation and capacity building in all facets of coral reef conservation, restoration and adaptation, and strengthen ongoing efforts and commitments made to enhance coral reefs conservation and their further degradation, it said. G20 consists of 19 individual countries, including the US, Russia, China, Japan, Australia, Saudi, plus the European Union.
The Paris accord was adopted by 195 parties at the UN climate conference “COP 21” held in the French capital in 2015 with an aim to reduce the hazardous greenhouse gas emissions. Nineteen members of the G20, except the US, have voiced their commitment to the full implementation of the deal.
The objective of the Paris Agreement is to prevent an increase in global average temperature and keep it well below 2 degrees Celsius. Last year, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres had asked countries to have specific plans for how they intend to cut carbon emissions in line with the science, which says global greenhouse gas emissions must fall 45 per cent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Representing India in the G20 meet, Javadekar said India has taken significant steps to protect environment and forest and wildlife as well as combating pollution and climate change. “India is blessed with vast bio-diversity and ecosystem. India has been taking measures to enhance coral reef conservation,” the ministry quoted him as saying.
The minister also noted that India’s steps towards dealing with climate change have been remarkable. He said the world has to channel its best practices to deal with climate change and to get concrete results.
The minister highlighted the efforts made by the National Coastal Mission Programme, saying under it, the government has taken many steps to protect and sustain coral reefs in the country. He also shared the efforts made by India towards achieving land degradation neutrality, and towards attainment of global goals of climate change mitigation and adaptation.
“India is taking adequate action to meet Paris Agreement goals and is one of the few countries compliant with it,” the ministry said quoting the minister. The EMM G20 meet was chaired by Saudi Arabia’s minister of environment Abdulrahman Al-Fadley.
