World not doing enough on climate change: PM

‘TIME TO ACT’ Calls for behavioural change, asks nations to join disaster resilience coalition

NEW YORK: The international community needs to act immediately on climate change as the steps taken so far by countries to overcome this serious challenge are not enough, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a United Nations summit on Monday.

Addressing the Global Climate Action Summit organised by UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, Modi called on countries to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure launched by India, which will be a loose collective of countries with capacity in handling post-disaster infrastructure development.

“Various efforts are being made by different countries to fight climate change but 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,” Modi said.

He added: “The time for talking is over, the world needs to act now.”

Modi listed his government’s efforts to cut single use plastic, increase renewable energy capacity to 175 GW by 2022, and conserve water through the Jal Jeevan Mission.

The need, he said, is a comprehensive approach that “covers education, values and everything from lifestyle to developmental philosophy”.

“What we need is a global people’s movement to bring about behavioural change. Respect for nature and the protection of natural resources have been important aspects of both our traditions and present day efforts. Need, not greed, has been our guiding principle,” Modi said.

India was at the summit not just to talk about the seriousness of climate change but to present a practical approach and a road map, he added.

Modi said India is launching the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure to help people around the world overcome the impact of disasters. “We believe that an ounce of practice is worth more than a tonne of preaching,” he added, proceeding to invite member nations to the Indian initiative.

familiar with developments said India has already sounded out key players such as Japan to back the coalition, which doesn’t seek to compete with UN organisations involved in relief but will complement their efforts. Modi raised the initiative during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the margins of the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 27 and sought Tokyo’s backing.

Modi, who last year received the Champion of the Earth award — the UN’S highest environmental honour, said solar panels installed by India on the roof of the UN building in New York at a cost of $1 million will be inaugurated on Tuesday.

India, he said, plans to increase the share of non-fossil fuel in its fuel mix and raise it renewable energy capacity to 175 GW by 2022, and further to 450 GW. India is also encouraging e-mobility in the transport sector and working to increase the percentage of bio-fuel blended in petrol and diesel. Gas connections for clean cooking have been provided to 150 million families, and India has started the Jal Jeevan Mission, on which $50 billion will be spent in the next few years for water conservation, rainwater harvesting and development of water resources.