Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the stage in his initial address at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York. The Indian Prime Minister has been in the United States since September 19th in order to attend the United Nations meetings.
During his address at the multi-lateral forum, the prime minister had reiterated the world the impact of the changing climate on the globe. Recently, students and citizens in over 150 countries had decided to go on a strike. India has been pushing its sway as a leading power and focusing on changing its energy sector to be more renewable.
The Prime Minister had also asked the world to start making a behavioural change in order to fight the climate change and further calling for a ‘Global People Movement’ in order to lead the way towards a climate safe environment. During his address to the nation, he had announced the production of 175 GW energy capacity through non-fossil means. At the summit, he has pledged to expand the renewable energy capacity to 450 GW by 2022.
The pledge comes as India is set to unveil the solar panels that it has helped install on the rooftop of the UN Building. The panels were fully funded by India. During his address to the UN Climate Action Summit, the prime minister also shared the concerns of the global powers regarding the increasing temperature of the planet. According to a report in the Hindu Bussiness Line, the objective is to keep the global temperature below 2 degrees Celcius as per the commitment under the Paris Climate Accords which could set a foundation of keeping it under 1.5 degrees Celcius.
The Prime Minister had also urged the global powers to join a coalition which will be aimed at providing disaster resilient infrastructure. Further, re-iterating a roadmap for the climate policy in India to make the transport sector environment-friendly. this will be of critical importance as many cities in India have poor air quality and have topped the charts for the worst air quality over the past few years. A shift in the position has an impact on other sectors as well to turn more environment-friendly.
In conclusion of his address, the Prime Minister had set a base for the world to start acting on its commitment towards protecting the climate when he said, “The time for talking is over; the world needs to act now.”
(Inputs from Agencies)