India going to increase share of non-fossil fuels to 175 GW by 2022 : PM Modi

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : The World leaders gathered in New York on September 23, 2019, for the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) Climate Action Summit. The Summit has been called by UNSG António Guterres to ramp up climate actions worldwide. Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated,  “We must accept that if we have to overcome a serious challenge like climate change, then what we are doing at the moment is just not enough; What is needed today, is a comprehensive approach which covers everything from education to values, and from lifestyle to developmental philosophy.”

Drawing attention towards India’s efforts in always following a climate sensitive sustainable development pathway by mainstreaming climate change concerns in development policies, PM Modi stated, “Need, not greed has been our guiding principle.”He said that an ounce of practice is worth more than a ton of preaching. “In India, we are going to increase the share of non-fossil fuels to 175GW by 2022, and to further increase it to 450GW,”, announced PM Modi.

“We have launched the Jal Jeevan mission for water conservation, rainwater harvesting and the development of water resources. India is going to spend approximately 50 billion dollars on this in the next few years,”the Prime Minister further informed the gathering, according to a PIB release.

PM Modi said that on the occasion of India’s 73^rdIndependence Day, we have called for a people’s movement to end the menace of single use plastic. He expressed hope that this will create an awareness at a global level about the harmful effects of single use plastic.

“On the International forum, almost 80 countries have joined our International Solar Alliance campaign. In order to make our infrastructure disaster resilient, India is launching a Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure,” he said. Tthe PM invited UN Member states to join this coalition.

Earlier in his thought provoking opening remarks, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres shed light on the significance of science and technology and its use as a powerful tool in combating climate change. “The climate crisis is caused by us and the solutions must come from us. We have the tools, technology is on our side, readily available technological substitutions already exists for more than 70% of today’s emissions,”, said Guterres.

Having the key focus on raising ambition and accelerate action to implement the Paris Agreement, the Climate Action Summit focuses on nine interdependent tracks, which are led by 19 countries in total and are supported by international organizations. The Summit has brought together governments, private sector, civil society, local authorities, and other international organizations to develop ambitious solutions in actionable areas. The Secretary-General has also prioritised a number of action portfolios.

The key areas identified include Finance: mobilising public and private sources of finance to drive decarbonisation of all priority sectors and advance resilience;  Energy Transition: accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy, as well as making significant gains in energy efficiency; Industry Transition: transforming industries such as oil and gas, steel, cement, chemicals and information technology; and Nature-Based Solutions: reducing emissions, increasing sink capacity and enhancing resilience within and across forestry, agriculture, oceans and food systems, including through biodiversity conservation, leveraging supply chains and technology.