Climate adaptation in the form of early warning dissemination is key to saving lives and livelihood from natural hazards, said Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav at the United Nations (UN) COP27 conference in Egypt.
Yadav highlighted that India has been working on strengthening end-to-end early warning systems for all hydro-meteorological hazards, adding that India fully supports the UN Secretary General António Guterres's agenda to achieve "Early Warnings for All".
Yadav also stressed that the global pace of climate mitigation is not enough to contain the rate of climate change. He was speaking at the UN Secretary General High Level Round Table to launch the "Early Warnings for All Executive Action Plan" as part of the 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
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With the intensification of tropical cyclones in the Pacific and the Caribbean, small tropical States have lost 200 per cent of their national income in a few hours. Such instances could have devastating consequences in countries that do not have sufficient means to cope with them, said Yadav.
"With climate finance still scarce, climate adaptation in the form of early warning dissemination is key in safeguarding lives and livelihoods. 'Early Warnings For All' plays a part in not just containing the immediate physical impacts, but also mitigating the far-reaching, long-term socio-economic implications that follow," said Yadav.
Deaths due to cyclones in the country have reduced by up to 90 per cent in the last 15 years, said Yadav, adding that early warning systems for cyclones cover almost the entire east and west coasts.
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India is making swift progress in terms of early warning for other hazards such as heat waves, said Yadav, adding that the country has made concerted efforts towards making early warnings impact-based, easily understandable and actionable by communities over the last few years.
At the conference being held in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt from November 6 to 18, developed countries are expected to push developing nations to further intensify their climate plans. On the other hand, the developing countries would seek commitment from the developed nations to finance and technology that are needed to address climate change and the resulting disasters.
The UN climate summit this year is being held in the shadow of the Russian aggression in Ukraine and the related energy crisis, which has strained the capabilities of countries to urgently tackle climate change.
(With PTI inputs)
