India is ideally situated to support the goals of the Global South: Shri Puri
The Working Group can encourage the G20 nations to accept the fundamental principles of the LiFE movement and further the adoption of sustainable living on a global level: Shri Puri
Through a video message, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Petroleum and Natural Gas, welcomed dignitaries from the G20, guest nations, international organizations, and other distinguished guests to the first meeting of the Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group in Bengaluru today.
Shri Puri extended his support for the grieving and really tough Turkish people. The outpouring of sympathy for Turkey from people and leaders throughout the world, he added, is a potent reminder of the shared humanity that unites us all. India sympathizes with Turkey’s loss and would continue to provide all humanitarian and medical assistance in this time of need. The G20 theme for this year is “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – One Earth, One Family, One Future,” and according to him, all of the delegates are here to promote this idea of worldwide oneness.He continued by saying that it is crucial that we unite and commit to an all-inclusive, ambitious, and action-oriented agenda that fosters prosperity and well-being.
Speaking at the First Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group meeting, Shri Puri said that all facets of life are becoming more expensive and difficult as a result of the effects of deteriorating biodiversity and the environment. A coordinated and calculated worldwide effort is required to address the connected issues of biodiversity loss and climate change. The G20 countries, which together represent two-thirds of the world’s population, 75% of global commerce, and 85% of the world’s GDP, will need to take decisive and visionary leadership in order to achieve this.In particular, the Global South looks up to the G-20 conversation and hopes for a quick agreement that averts both a climate crisis and a financial crisis for poor countries.
According to Shri Puri, India is well situated to support the ambitions of the Global South. He said that during the past eight years, the government has made a lot of ground-breaking actions to promote “climate justice.” The Panchamrit Action Plan, which Prime Minister Modi formally unveiled at COP-26 in Glasgow, calls on India to achieve net-zero emissions by the year 2070. This is one of the quickest timelines that a developing economy has suggested between peak emissions and net zero status. Shri Puri emphasised that India is proving that economy and ecological are intrinsically connected rather than at war with one another.
Speaking on the significance of the Working Group Meeting, Shri Puri stated that it gives the G20 countries a chance to conceptualise and approve a specific plan based on the recommendations made at COP-27 in Sharm el-Sheikh and the Biodiversity Conference held in Montreal this year. The Working Group, he continued, will facilitate a mentality change away from ownership toward care of natural resources.
The three priority areas that have been identified for discussion in this Working Group are in line with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) mission, which emphasises “mindful and deliberate utilisation, instead of mindless and destructive consumption to protect and preserve the environment,” Shri Puri said, reiterating the importance of living sustainably.
According to Shri Puri, the Working Group may act as a catalyst to encourage the G20 nations to accept the fundamental principles of the LiFE movement and further the adoption of sustainable living on a worldwide level. According to him, it has the potential to pioneer mutually advantageous mechanisms to expedite climate funding and foster cooperative activities and to ingrain justice and fairness into the conversation about climate change.
Shri Puri expressed optimism that the group’s experiences and learning from the discussions at the Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group’s first meeting will be used to create a bold, forward-looking plan that can be presented to the G20 leaders.
