G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group meeting concludes in Chennai

BY PUJA MISHRA

Chennai, July29: The Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) Ministers’ Meeting under India’s G20 Presidency began in Chennai on Friday. Addressing the meeting through video message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the need to step up action on commitments under the ‘UN Climate Convention’ and the ‘Paris Agreement’.

The ministerial meeting, which began after two days of deliberations under the Environment and Climate Stability Working Group, was chaired by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav.

Two separate tracks on Environment and Climate were created during the 4th ECSWG meeting. Under the environment track, water resource management was discussed, while under the climate track, the delegates shared views on the issue of climate change.

 In the three-day meeting, about 300 representatives of the invited countries registered their presence along with the G20 members.

This was the fourth meeting of this working group. In the various sessions held during the last three ECSWG meetings, there were collaborative and inclusive discussions on three broad thematic areas identified by the Indian Presidency.

In the ministerial meeting, discussions were held on building a consensus on these subjects. The delegates shared views on stopping land degradation, promoting blue economyand resource efficiency &circular economy. Along with this, the main focus of the delegates during the meeting was to finalize the draft ministerial communiqué.

Addressing the meeting, PM Modi said, “India has achieved its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources nine years ahead of its 2030 target and we have set the bar even higher through our updated targets.

Today, India is among the top 5 countries in the world in terms of installed renewable energy capacity. We have also set a target of achieving ‘net zero’ level of carbon emissions by 2070.”

Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav launched the Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy Industry Coalition (RECEIC) at an event organized on the sidelines of the G20 meetings. Conceived under India’s G20 chairmanship, RECEIC is an industry-led initiative that aims to promote resource efficiency and circular economy practices globally. The alliance is envisioned as a self-sustaining entity that will continue to work beyond India’s Presidency of the G20, making a lasting impact on environmental sustainability.

At the end of the meeting, foreign guests also tasted regional cuisine. The cultural and historical grandeur of Tamil Nadu was witnessed in the cultural event organized in the evening. The delegates also had the opportunity to visit the historically significant city of Mahabalipuram, where they marvelled at a group of monuments dating back to the 7thand 8thcenturies, included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.