Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Friday that developed nation should play greater role to combat the challenge posed by the climate change. He was speaking on the occasion of the 18th Meeting of BASIC Countries that concluded in New Delhi on Friday.
The meeting is an important precursor to the crucial UN Climate summit meeting in September and the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris next year.
The Environment Ministers from Brazil, South Africa, India and China called on developed countries to “walk the talk” and meet their commitments on emissions cuts and green finance, in keeping with their historic responsibilities.
Earlier, speaking at the meeting, Javadekar also emphasised on enhanced action by developing countries.
“What we found out is that even on the mitigation front, actions of the BASIC countries of South Africa, Brazil, China and ours, are more concrete than the developed world.”, said the Minister. He suggested for making a compendium of what has been done and put up before the forthcoming UN Climate Summit meeting in September.
The vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, Xie Zhenhua said 60 per cent of the cut in emission is contributed by developing countries. He said discussions between US and China at the bilateral level is shared with the BASIC countries. He allayed apprehensions that bilateral meetings were diluting multilateral discussions on
climate change.
Responding to a query on what the Ministers were expecting from the UN summit, South African Minister for Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa said they need a “political momentum and a will to combat climate change and for developed countries to lead in the endeavour.”
later, the Environment Ministers stressed in the joint statement that the 2015 outcome to be adopted in Paris should be comprehensive, balanced, equitable and fair in order to enhance the full, effective and sustained implementation of the UN Convention.
It reaffirmed that the process and outcome of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) must be in full accordance with all the principles, provisions and structure of the Convention, “in particular the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities”.
The Ministers affirmed that the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) would include all pillars of the Durban Platform-mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology development and transfer and capacity-building.