In an effort to dispel the myth that emerging nations are more environmentally destructive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that despite having 17% of the world’s population, India only contributes 5% of the world’s carbon emissions.
At the G7 Summit in Germany, at a special session titled “Investing in a brighter future: Climate, energy, and health,” Modi stressed the need of keeping in mind that everyone should have access to energy, despite the fact that energy prices are rising due to geopolitical unrest.
In addition to India, nations from Indonesia, South Africa, Argentina, and Senegal have also been invited to the summit of the seven greatest economies in the world in an effort to improve global cooperation on important problems including climate change, health, and energy security.
“Unfortunately, it is thought that environmental conservation and global growth goals are fundamentally at odds. Another common misperception is that poorer nations and citizens harm the environment more, Modi added while addressing in Hindi.
The country of India is home to 17% of the world’s population. However, we only contribute 5% of the world’s carbon emissions. Our way of life, which is predicated on the idea of coexisting with nature, is mostly to blame for this, he said.
India has demonstrated through thousands of years that its dedication to the environment has not been “diluted even a single bit,” he added, especially during previous periods of enormous wealth and as the largest economy with the quickest rate of growth.
You’ll all concur as well that access to energy should not be a privilege reserved for the wealthy; a poor household has the same rights regarding energy. It is even more crucial to keep this in mind now, when energy prices are skyrocketing as a result of global unrest, Modi remarked.
India has demonstrated that millions of tons of carbon emissions may be avoided while providing electricity for the underprivileged by delivering LED lamps and clean cooking gas door-to-door.
The country’s performance demonstrates its commitment to its climate obligations, since it reached the goal of obtaining 40% of its energy from non-fossil sources nine years before the target year of 2030 and the goal of blending 10% ethanol into gasoline five months before the target date. According to Modi, India boasts the first entirely solar-powered airport and will have a net-zero railway system in this decade.
He anticipated that the wealthy G7 nations will aid India, a sizable market for sustainable energy technology, in its endeavors. “G7 nations may make investments in industry, innovation, and research in this area. Every new technology can be made accessible to the entire globe because of the size that India can bring, he continued.
Modi continued by stating that India has adopted the philosophy of “one globe, one health” since human health and the health of the environment are intertwined. India identified innovative ways to employ digital technology for health during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the G7 nations can assist India in spreading similar technologies to underdeveloped nations, he noted.
He mentioned that during the COP26 conference in Glasgow the previous year, he had advocated for a movement known as LiFE, or Lifestyle For Environment. This year’s World Environment Day saw the beginning of the Global Initiative for LIFE campaign in India.
This program aims to promote an environmentally sustainable way of life. We might refer to the supporters of this movement as “triple-P” or “pro planet people,” and we all have a duty to increase the proportion of triple-Ps in our own nations, he added.
