‘Protecting, restoring ecosystem can mitigate climate change impact’

NEW DELHI: Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Sunday said that protecting and restoring ecosystems can help reduce the extent of climate change and cope with its impacts.

Speaking at the plenary session at the G7 ministers’ meeting on climate, energy and environment in Sapporo in Japan, he said it is important that issues related to climate change in tandem with environmental action are dealt with holistically.

“We do hope that this is at the core of deliberations of this meeting of the climate, energy and environment ministers of the G7 countries,” he added.

The minister further said that climate change, desertification and biodiversity loss are deeply interlinked and pose existential challenges to humanity.

“In response to these challenges, Rio Conventions have made remarkable progress, through a consensus driven approach, based on principles,” he noted.

Yadav informed that recently at the CBD conference in Montreal, the Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted and at CoP27 at Sharm-el- Sheikh, landmark decisions on issues like the loss and damage were taken.

“However, there still is a long way to go,” the minister said.

Yadav informed that India in its G20 presidency has embedded mitigation and adaptation deeply across priority areas of arresting land degradation, accelerating ecosystem restoration and enriching biodiversity.

He said the approach promotes a sustainable and climate resilient blue economy, encouraging resource efficiency and circular economy, with Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) as a cross-cutting theme, thus mainstreaming climate change, and addressing the impacts in an ambitious, decisive and action-oriented manner.

Yadav said “India looks forward to the leadership of G7 nations to ensure an effective fight against the triple challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, for unity of purpose and unity of action conscious of the fact that we have one earth, we are one family and have one future.”

The minister said he looked forward to welcoming all at G20 environment and climate sustainability ministerial meeting at Chennai in July this year.