Ministers of Brazil, South Africa, India and China representing the BASIC Group met on Tuesday at the 27th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
The ministers pledged their full support to the Egyptian COP27 Presidency for a successful conference, which should deliver an ambitious, equitable and balanced outcome, including substantial progress towards the establishment of a financial mechanism for loss and damage. The principle of common but different responsibilities and respective capabilities, in light of national circumstances was emphasised.
Ministers highlighted that despite the enormous developmental challenges and pressures of poverty eradication at a time of global economic downturn and economic recovery, the BASIC countries continue to lead from the front on climate change actions, in the context of their overarching sustainable development imperatives.
Speaking on this occasion Union Minister Bhupender Yadav said, “It gives me immense pleasure to meet with you at COP27 at a crucial juncture for this conference. Our host and the COP President, the Arab Republic of Egypt, have worked tirelessly to make this COP a success.”
“This COP has been rightly named the COP of Implementation. As BASIC countries, we have always been for action. Unfortunately, promises, either for 2030 or 2050, have been the dominant narrative that developed countries have sought to establish. At this COP, we have been active in promoting action in key areas of relevance particularly to the majority of the vulnerable populations of the world. Adaptation and loss and damage have been of particular importance to us in this regard,” the minister further added.
“But the focus is always on mitigation, in one way or the other. So, I wish to elaborate on issues related to mitigation briefly. First of all, I am happy to inform you that India is submitting its Long-Term Low-Carbon Development Strategy to the UNFCCC, which I released yesterday at our India Pavilion here at COP27,” said Yadav.
Speaking on low-carbon development strategy, the Union Minister said, “In order to enable us to achieve our NDC goals by 2030, we are currently pursuing low-carbon development strategy in all seven sectors.
We have not focused on targets. We recognized that various factors may shift targets, including the development of technology, global economic and geopolitical trends and the extent of international cooperation. There are of course inevitable risks in the long journey to net zero. But focusing on a range of immediate actions enables us to be confident that our way forward will evolve suitably while taking into account changing circumstances.”
“Our initiatives include the continued expansion of renewables and the strengthening of the grid, rational utilization of our fossil fuel resources, promoting e-vehicles through major initiatives, steady increase of bio-fuel blending in petrol and diesel, and expansion of our energy efficiency across sectors and drawing in more industrial units. We have a visionary initiative in green hydrogen as the fuel of the future,” he added.
According to the Union Environment Minister, the Indian Government has already brought many of these initiatives to the stage of implementation.
