India is looking for clear and articulate positions being brought out in terms of climate finance and technology transfer, Environment Secretary Leena Nandan said on Thursday while noting that this is the time for best investment and technology to come into the country. Delivering the keynote address on the second day of the ongoing World Sustainable Development Summit 2022 (WSDS-22), organised by TERI, Nandan said that India is walking the talk on climate action and the same kind of commitment is expected from the world as well.
“We believe in walking the talk. Therefore, after COP 26, we immediately moved forward, enunciated our goals and outlined our goals in the form of budgetary announcements. Therefore, I think the world now has to take note of all the various dimensions that we expect the climate change dialogue to move towards, in terms of energy transitions, increasing emphasis on electric vehicles, green hydrogen, solar power generation.
“That is how we propose to achieve the targets we have stated in terms of non-fossil fuel capacities,” she said.
The international climate conference, COP 26, of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Glasgow, UK, last year which saw participation from over 190 countries to discuss the global issue of climate change.
The next climate conference COP 27 will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt later this year.
Besides Nandan, COP26 president Alok Sharma, who is also the Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, UK, delivered his address at the WSDS’ High Level Session ‘COP Charter of Actions-From Glasgow to Sharm El-Sheikh’ during which he emphasized on the need to turn promises made at COP 26 into actions else the target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees will slip away.
“Thanks to what we achieved together (at COP 26) both inside and outside the negotiating rooms. We can say with credibility that the 1.5-degree (global warming) limit lives. The commitments secured at the COP 26 were historic and yet at the moment they are just words on a page.
“Unless we honour the promises made to turn the commitments under the Glasgow climate pact into action, they will wither on the vine,” he said, adding that the 1.5 degrees target will be missed.
During her address, Nandan too stressed on the need for a clear stand of the world in terms of climate finance and technology transfer in order to translate the vision into action.
“India is looking for clear and articulate positions being brought out in terms of climate finance and technology transfer. These are the real challenges. Translating the vision into action is the real challenge in front of all of us.
“India is on track to achieve its commitments in the 2015 Paris Agreement. It is taking on its duties and responsibilities in a very clear and concerted manner but the responsibilities have to be shared equally among the global leaders and developed countries,” Nandan said.
Talking about the green bonds, which will be issued to finance projects that generate environmental benefits, the secretary said that it was the time for best investments to come to India.
“We have also floated the green sovereign bond concept. These are the areas we expect the world to sit up and take note of. This is the time for the best of investment and technology to come into India because we need business and every bit of what we call a green economy.
“This is also the time where we want our voice to reach the world in terms of what exactly is beyond COP 26 and how we work towards the COP 27 lined up later this year,” she said.
Nandan also stressed on the importance of climate mitigation and adaptation.
“Mitigation and adaptation are very important, but the adaptation part has to be given pre-eminence in the entire dialogue. We come back to the core issue of climate finance and technology transfer.
“How much transparency there is, how much accountability there is, what is the equity and inclusiveness – are the points that have to be discussed and deliberated as we work towards the next COP,” she said.
World Sustainable Development Summit is the annual flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) with this year’s theme being ‘Towards a Resilient Planet: Ensuring a Sustainable and Equitable Future’.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the summit on Wednesday stressing that energy requirements of the people of India are expected to double in the next 20 years, as he urged developed countries to fulfil their commitments on finance and technology transfer.
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