Idea of climate action shouldn’t be to move ambition goal post to 2050: India at UNSC

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 24: India has said that the idea of climate action should not be to move the goal post to 2050 and countries must fulfil their pre-2020 commitments, calling on the global community to view climate change as a “wake-up call” to strengthen multilateralism and seek equitable solutions for a sustainable world.

Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday said the delivery on the commitment by developed countries to jointly mobilise USD 100 billion per year by 2020 in support of climate action in developing countries has been elusive.

He was speaking at the UN Security Council’s open debate on ‘Maintenance of international peace and security: Addressing climate-related risks to international peace and security’.

“The idea of climate action should not be to move the climate ambition goal post to 2050. It is important for countries to fulfil their pre-2020 commitments. Climate Action needs to go hand-in-hand with the framework for financial, technical and capacity-building support to countries that need it,” he said.

The year 2050 is when nations have been called on to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions. Emissions must fall by half by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions no later than 2050 to reach the 1.5 Celsius goal of the Paris agreement.

He said as nations prepare to meet for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in November, there is a “significant opportunity” for countries to integrate low-carbon development in their COVID-19 rescue-and-recovery measures-and long-term mitigation strategies that are scheduled to be announced at the summit.

The summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“Let us then make the transition to a more climate-friendly lifestyle by adapting to a low-carbon-development pathway based on our needs and not on our greed. Let us view climate change as a wake-up call and an opportunity to strengthen multilateralism and seek equitable and inclusive solutions to leave a greener, cleaner and a sustainable world for our future generations,” he said.

In his speech, Javadekar emphasised that the global community has addressed the issue of climate change through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, which together represent a “delicately balanced” global democratic effort to take climate action in a nationally-determined manner based on the ‘Common but Differentiated Responsibility and Respective Capabilities’. – PTI