The India CEO Forum on Climate Change was held virtually on November 5 which was chaired by Union Minister Prakash Keshav Javadekar, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC). It focuses on sustainable partnership between the Government and private sector in the field of climate change.
- The forum saw the participation of key industry leaders from the steel, cement, power, pharmaceuticals etc. sectors who shared their vision for climate action in the post-2020 period.
- The Minister highlighted that the countries’ collaboration is needed to take needed action on the issue of climate change.
Declaration on Climate Change signed by 24 key private industries and MoEF&CC
The private-sector companies pledged to work with the government by taking necessary actions to tackle climate change in order to achieve India’s targets under the Paris Agreement. In this regard, they issued a ‘Declaration of Private Sector on Climate Change’. Click Here to read about Declaration and for the Names of 24 Industries
- The declaration is committed to achieve GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions reduction as well as energy efficiency improvement goals through a range of solutions thereby creating a low-carbon sustainable economy.
- The participating industries will also submit an annual report to the environment ministry providing qualitative and quantitative information on the contribution of the private sector.
- The private sector plays a pivotal role in creating low-carbon sustainable economies and has embarked on a number of voluntary actions on climate change that can contribute towards achieving India’s NDC goals.
- The private sector also benefitted from India’s participation in Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol and going forward Article 6 of the Paris Agreement offers further opportunities for meeting the climate change and sustainable development objectives.
India’s story towards Paris Agreement
India signed a Paris Agreement in 2016 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). As part of its, India announced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) which has three quantitative climate change goals viz.
- Reduction in the emissions intensity of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 33 to 35% by 2030 from 2005 level.
- Achieving about 40% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030 .
- Creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
India also aims to achieve 100 GW (Gigawatt) Solar Power and 175 GW renewable energy by 2022 and production of 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030.
Key Points:
–India urged the developed countries to provide climate-friendly technology at an affordable cost.
–India’s per capita carbon emission is very low as compared to developed nations.
–India has also taken several measures for cutting carbon emission by focusing on renewable energy and increasing the green cover.
Recent Related News:
i.On October 15, 2020, MoEF&CC announced that Ramsar Convention has declared The Asan Conservation Reserve(ACR) in Dehradun as a site of international importance. ACR has been included in the ‘List of Wetlands of International Importance’ established by Article 2.1 of the convention. This is the first wetland from Uttarakhand, to be recognised by Ramsar.
ii.On the occasion of International Coastal Cleanup Day 2020 (September 19, 2020) MoEF&CC launched India’s own eco-label BEAMS (Beach Environment & Aesthetics Management Services) with an aim to reduce pollution and to maintain high standards of cleanliness, safety for beachgoers in accordance with coastal environment and regulations.
About Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC):
Prakash Keshav Javadekar Constituency– Maharashtra
Minister of State (MoS)– Babul Supriyo
