Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Monday  called upon all nations to collaborate and cooperate in an unparalleled manner to ensure sustainable development even as he expressed concern over the impact of climate change on developing countries.  Naidu was speaking at the inauguration of the three-day World Sustainable Development Summit 2019 here.

 “The immediate impact of climate change was felt more by developing countries because of higher dependence on climatic variables, especially when it comes to agriculture, and their limited capacities to adapt, he said.

Naidu said   climate change  and global warming threaten lives and livelihoods of billions and upsets the delicate balance of nature. It is in its recognition that India is trying its best to include the paradigm of sustainability and environmental conservation in all its development endeavours,” he said.

 Sharing the opinion of the vice president, Union Minister Harsh Vardhan said the issue of climate change was among the biggest challenges which needs to be addressed collectively.

 “Climate change and environmental problems are amongst the biggest challenges today. It goes without saying that these issues need to be addressed collectively by all of us before it is too late,” Vardhan, the Union Minister for environment, forests and climate change, said at the summit organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

The Ministry of Environment also collaborated with TERI to set up a resource efficiency cell at the event.

 Speaking about the collaboration, the Minister said, “Anticipating increased demand for raw materials in the future, it is vital to institute the best in resource efficiency as an effort toward decoupling economic growth and human wellbeing from ever-increasing consumption of natural resources.”

 “The cell will enable inter-ministerial and inter-departmental synergy in promoting material resource efficiency in India while helping frame the blueprint of the integrated resource efficiency policy for India,” he said.

The Vice-President, in his key address at the event, emphasised on the importance of sustainable agriculture as a part of sustainable development and said more efficient systems of irrigation with “more crop per drop” mantra should be used.

“There is a need to make use of the endless possibilities of biotechnology and nano-technology to develop a range of green products, including nano-fertilisers. “We should move towards more efficient systems of irrigation with ‘more crop per drop’ as our mantra. Greater thrust has to be placed on organic farming and on the use of natural means of pest control,” he said.

Naidu, while kick-starting the summit, said sustainable development is inclusive development which includes sustainable agriculture, sustainable mobility solutions, urbanisation, energy security and clean energy, waste management and efforts in wildlife conservation.

“Sustainable development is a common goal for all world nations, given the unprecedented scale of environmental degradation and its drastic consequences that we have been witnessing,” the vice president said.

 Naidu said India’s traditional practices reflected a sustainable lifestyle and the Vedic philosophy of India always emphasised the undeniable connection that human beings share with nature.