Bhupender Yadav says development is our first defence against climate change

NEW DELHI: Bhupender Yadav, Minister for Environment Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, spoke at the Plenary Session at G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment in Sapporo, Japan. Bhupender Yadav, while referring to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), reemphasised that development is our first defence against climate change.

IPCC report highlights that in order to achieve the global climate target, as discussed and agreed upon in the Paris Agreement we need a significant cut in the CO₂, the primary culprit behind global warming.

Singh said that for the achievement of the global target of meeting net zero targets by the middle of the century, developed countries need to cut down their emissions significantly. This emission cut by the developed countries will provide a much-needed cushion for developing countries like India as they need to attain a certain level of development to fulfil the requirement of their people essential to provide necessary defence against the impacts of climate change, environmental degradation and pollution.

While referring to the Industrial Revolution (IR), which led to economic growth and development, the minister said that there has been a huge gap in historical emissions of developed and developing countries. The development has come at the cost of destroying the balance of nature, thereby risking the existence of planet Earth.

He added that in order to save the planet from the effects of climate change and loss of biodiversity, we need to act together guided by principles outlined in the Rio Conventions. Though we have made some collective progress with the help of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), we still need to go a very long way. He said we need immediate and collective action to deal with the three challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

Developing countries would need the means of implementation, finance and technology to tackle the climate challenges without compromising their development potential. He said we hope that the developed countries would stick to their commitment to cutting down their emissions and providing necessary support to the developing south to meet their environmental degradation and biodiversity loss.

The environment minister asked all the countries to come forward and set an example in the collective efforts against climate change, environmental degradation and pollution by bringing about a change in individual behaviour, thus, inducing a shift to Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE).