New Delhi, Jul 22 (IANS): Reiterating its stand on 'Nature Based Solutions' (NBS) and 'Sustainable Finance', India on Thursday said the contexts and perspectives should be guided by the stage of economic development, national circumstances and priorities, and must not come at the cost of developing countries' competitiveness, equity and development.
Leading the Indian delegation at the G20 Environment Ministerial meeting held at Naples, Italy, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, also mentioned about the initiatives taken by India on resource efficiency (RE) and circular economy (CE), and that the G20 Resource Efficiency Dialogue should also strengthen exchange of ideas, knowledge and best practices on RE and CE, besides supporting the transition to sustainable and equitable resource use for a better future.
"The government of India is committed to achieve economic growth by judiciously prioritising and adopting the goal of target, according to local challenges, resource and capacity. Ensuring sustainable consumption and production pattern through sustainable natural resource management, waste reduction and promoting resource efficiency have been a priority for the government of India and is reflected in (its) various policies and measures such as the 'zero effect, zero defect' scheme, 'Clean India Mission' and many others," Yadav said.
"In fact, the concept of circular economy has been inbuilt into our traditional sustainable lifestyle approaches since time immemorial. India has traditionally been a society which practises using products and resources to their full potential with least amount going waste," Yadav added.
India is committed to work with the G20 countries for a better world leaving no one behind, and stands together in solidarity with the global community in mounting a strong and effective response that secures the health of the planet and its people, he said.
The Environment Minister underscored the need for a collective global action to tide over the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, and that the developing countries need every possible support more than ever before.
Speaking on Nature Based Solutions (NBS) and Sustainable Finance, Yadav said the contexts and perspectives should be guided by the stage of economic development, national circumstances and priorities, and "must not come at the cost of developing countries' competitiveness, equity and development".
For tackling marine litter, Yadav emphasised that India has been taking voluntary regulatory measures on plastic waste management, and also recalled that in the 4th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in 2019, India had separately piloted a resolution (No. 4/9) in the 4th UNEA on "Addressing single-use plastic products pollution".
During the course of the day-long meeting, India welcomed global initiatives such as UNESCO's International Environmental Experts Network; protecting at least 30 per cent of global land area and oceans by 2030; land degradation neutrality by 2030; third report on the G20 implementation framework for actions on marine plastic litter etc.
The key topics for discussions at the meeting include combating climate change, accelerating the ecological transition, making financial flows consistent with the Paris Agreement objectives, opportunities for sustainable and inclusive recovery enabled by innovative technological solutions of the energy sector, and building smart, resilient and sustainable cities.
The year 2021 is a crucial year for ecological transition and climate, with a number of global events such as the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the three Rio Conventions on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Desertification (UNFCCC COP26, CBD COP 15 and UNCCD COP 15, respectively), the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the United Nations Food Systems Summit and the United Nations Ocean Conference scheduled to take place in the next few months.