India contributes just 5% to global carbon emission, asserts Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said India’s contribution to protecting climate is noteworthy and urged wealthy nations, including the G7, to invest in research in producing clean energy due to the huge market in India.
Underlining various efforts made by the country in protecting climate, Modi also said 17 per cent of the world’s population resides in India. “But, our contribution to global carbon emissions is only 5 per cent. The main reason behind this is our lifestyle, which is based on the theory of coexistence with nature,” he said in an effort to dispel the notion that poor people cause more damage to the environment.
Earlier, Modi met US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron at the G7 summit in Germany.
He arrived at the G7 annual summit, where he was welcomed by German chancellor Olaf Scholz. The Group of Seven comprises the US, the UK, France, Italy, Japan, Canada and the European Union. The annual summit may also discuss the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Addressing the session on “Investing in a better Future: Climate, Energy, Health” at the G7 Summit, the Prime Minister said India’s dedication to climate commitments is evident from our performance.
“We have achieved the target of 40 per cent energy-capacity from non-fossil sources 9 years before time. The target of 10 per cent ethanol-blending in petrol has been achieved 5 months before time. India has the world’s first fully solar power operated airport. India’s huge railway system will become net zero in this decade,” he said.
With India constantly achieving its goals, the Prime Minister said, “We hope that the rich countries of G7 will support India’s efforts. Today, a huge market for clean energy technologies is emerging in India. The G7 countries can invest in research, innovation, and manufacturing in this field.”
He said the scale that India can provide for every new technology can make that technology affordable for the whole world. The core theories of the circular economy have been an integral part of Indian culture and lifestyle.
The Prime Minister stressed on the need for equitable access to energy and said this should not be the privilege of the rich only — a poor family also has the same rights on energy. He also said he called for a movement called LIFE — Lifestyle for Environment — in Glasgow last year.
“This year on World Environment Day, we launched the Global Initiative for LiFE campaign. The goal of this campaign is to encourage an eco-friendly lifestyle. We can call the followers of this movement Triple-P, i.e. “pro planet people”, and we should all take the responsibility of increasing the number of Triple-P people in our own countries. This will be our greatest contribution to the coming generations,” Modi said.
Highlighting the fact that human and planet health are inter-connected, he said India has adopted the approach of one world, one health. During the pandemic, India found many creative ways to use digital technology in the health sector. The G-7 countries can help India to take these innovations to other developing countries, the Prime Minister said .
“Recently we all celebrated the International Day of Yoga. In times of the COVID crisis, yoga has become a great tool for preventive health for people all over the world, this helped many people to maintain their physical and mental health,” he said.
On Sunday, Modi held a productive meeting with Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez here on the sidelines of the G-7 summit and reviewed the full range of bilateral ties. This was the first bilateral meeting between the two leaders.
During the meeting, the two leaders discussed various issues like trade and investment, defence cooperation, agriculture, climate action and food security.
Modi is on a two-day visit to Germany to attend the G7 summit on June 26 and 27.
