Vikrant Shekhawat : Nov 22, 2020, 10:07 PM
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said at the G20 summit that India is not only meeting Paris Agreement targets, but also exceeding them."India has taken concrete action in many areas. We have made LED lights popular. This saves 38 million tons of Carbon Dioxide emissions per year. Smoke free kitchens have been provided to over 80 million households through our Ujjwala Scheme. This is among the largest clean energy drives globally," he said."We are focused on saving citizens, economy from pandemic; equally important to focus on fighting climate change," said Modi on second day of the two-day event being hosted by Saudi Arabia.Climate change must be fought not in silos, but in an integrated and holistic way, he said while Addressing the G20 side event on 'Safeguarding the Planet',"Climate change must be fought not in silos but in an integrated, comprehensive and holistic way. Inspired by our traditional ethos of living in harmony with the environment, and the commitment of my Government, India has adopted low-carbon and climate-resilient development practices," said Modi.India has adopted low carbon and climate resilient development practices, Modi added."We aim to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030; we are encouraging a circular economy," said Modi.He said India is making next-generation infrastructure such as metro networks, water-ways and more. "In addition to convenience and efficiency , they will also contribute to a cleaner environment. We will meet our goal of 175 Giga Watts of renewable energy well before the target of 2022. Now, we are taking a big step ahead by seeking to achieve 450 Giga Watts by 2030," Modi added.He said the International Solar Alliance is among the fastest growing International Organisations, with 88 signatories . "With plans to mobilise billions of dollars train thousands of stake-holders, and promote research and development in renewable energy, the ISA will contribute to reducing carbon foot-print. One more example is the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. 18 countries - including 9 from among the G20 - and 4 international organisations have already joined the Coalition . CDRI has started work on increasing resilience of critical infrastructure. Infra damage during natural disasters is a subject that has not got the attention it deserves. The poorer nations are specially impacted by this. Therefore, this Coalition is important," said Modi.The entire world can progress faster if there is greater support of technology and finance to the developing world, Modi said."For humanity to prosper, every single individual must prosper. Rather than seeing labour as a factor of production alone, the focus must be on the human dignity of every worker," the prime minister said.Such an approach would be the best guarantee for safeguarding the planet, Modi said.Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Sunday that his country will lead international efforts to combat climate change, in comments on the sidelines of the G20 summit.Suga has already said that Japan will aim for net-zero emissions by 2050, making a green society one of his key policy priorities."Addressing climate change is not a constraint on economic growth," said Suga. "We will lead international society in realising a decarbonised world."Under international pressure to do more to address global warming, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the G20 that China would implement its own initiatives including achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.Japanese lawmakers on Thursday declared a climate emergency in a symbolic vote aimed at increasing pressure for action to combat global warming, after Japan last month committed to its firm timetable for net-zero emissions.With the vote, Japan - the world's fifth-biggest carbon emitter - joins Britain, Canada and France in similar resolutions, as well as the European Union as a bloc and nearly 2,000 regional and city authorities around the world.