Pvt sector firms join hands with govt to combat climate change

NEW DELHI: Some of India’s biggest private sector companies on Thursday pledged to work with the government to tackle climate change and build sustainable economies, thereby helping the country achieve its targets under the Paris Agreement.

CEOs of companies like Reliance Industries Ltd, Tech Mahindra, Dalmia Cement, Ambuja Cement, Dr Reddy’s, Sun Pharma and Adani Transmission, among others, held a virtual discussion with Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar at the India CEO Forum on Climate Change.

Following the discussion, they issued a ‘Declaration of Private Sector on Climate Change’, pledging to take necessary action to help India achieve its targets under the Paris Agreement.

The declaration stressed that “a coordinated response by the government and private sector on climate change that protects the country’s interests and ensures that India is on track towards meeting its climate change obligations under the Paris Agreement is the need of the hour”. “We commit to set achievable GHG emissions reduction as well as energy efficiency improvement goals and voluntary targets within our own companies through a range of solutions including,” it said. They said they would develop and submit an annual report to the environment ministry providing qualitative and quantitative information on the contribution of the private sector. “We commit to pursue the development, exchange and implementation of best practices and strategies on GHG emission reduction and building climate resilience as part of a sustainable development approach,” the declaration said.” We encourage other players to work with us to tackle climate change and build sustainable economies.