Addressing the virtual Ministerial Meeting of the Major Economies Forum (MEF), Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav said India has embarked upon one of the most ambitious energy transition programmes in the world. The minister also expressed concerns regarding climate finance and technology support from developed countries. He said that the current pace and scale of climate finance and technology support from developed countries are not matching the global aspiration to combat climate change and there is a need for upscaling the delivery and targets of implementation support including finance and technologies.
The Minister has highlighted similar concerns earlier as well. He has time and again pointed out that climate finance is not charity but a duty of the developed countries. The Environment Minister had noted inadequate climate finance from developed countries. At COP26, India had committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070.
At the MEF meeting hosted by John Kerry, US Special Envoy for Climate Change, Yadav reiterated the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP26 to the world community to embrace the mantra of LIFE- Lifestyle for Environment, for the mass movement on sustainable lifestyles for combating climate change will help the global community to accelerate climate actions and to bridge the gaps in global climate-resilient transition.
“Further, multilateralism and its rules-based order should be honored by all without resorting to unilateral measures which would harm other countries”, stated the Minister emphasizing that the principles and provisions of UNFCCC including equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities should continue to be the guiding pillars of global efforts to combat climate change.
John Kerry expressed his appreciation for the collective efforts of the parties to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate) for the outcomes of COP26 especially on the outstanding matters related to the Paris Agreement Rule Book and called for the continued commitment to keep the momentum of climate action in 2022 including in COP 27 and work together to further pursue the efforts building on the COP26 outcomes.
