US special envoy lauds PM Modi’s efforts on climate change

“PM Modi’s announcement of a target of 450 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2030 is a strong terrific example of how to power a growing economy with clean energy and it’s going to be one of the most important contributions in the world because India today is already the third-largest emitter in the world,” he said during the World Sustainable Development Summit 2021.

Kerry mentioned that India has been a wonderful partner in advancing global ambitions from the negotiations in Paris to the current efforts leading to the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow.

Underscoring that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a very important contribution to the dialogue, the special envoy maintained that India is a world leader in the deployment of renewable energy and the leadership of the International Solar Alliance was very critical for India and other growing economies of the world.

The 20th edition of The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) flagship event, the World Sustainable Development Summit, took place online on February 10 and brought together a wide number of governments, business leaders, academicians, climate scientists, youth, and the civil society in the fight against climate change.

The theme of the Summit is ‘Redefining our common future: Safe and secure environment for all’.

On Wednesday, PM Modi called for investing in youth in order to achieve sustainable development adding that the road to fighting climate change is through climate justice.

“Global platforms like this are important for our present and our future. Two things will define how the progress journey of humanity will unfold in times to come. The first is the health of our people and the second is the health of our planet. Both are interlinked,” he said.

While pointing out the “sad reality” on the poor due to changes in the environment and natural disasters, PM Modi said that climate justice also means giving developing countries enough space to grow.