G7 SUMMIT: PM MODI REVEALED, WHY INDIA IS AHEAD IN THE WORLD IN ENERGY CONSERVATION AND CLIMATIC PROTECTION?

New Delhi (The Quiver) : On Monday,Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “India, which is home to 17% of the world population, accounts for only 5% of global carbon emissions”.

While addressing a special session on “Investing in a better future: Climate, energy, health” at the G7 Summit in Germany, Modi told it is important to remember that access to energy shouldn’t be the privilege of the rich only against the backdrop of energy costs increasing due to geopolitical tensions.

Countries like Indonesia, South Africa, Argentina and Senegal were invited along with India, to the summit of seven of the world’s largest economies in an effort to strengthen international collaboration on key issues such as climate action, health and energy security.

“Unfortunately, it is believed that there is a fundamental collision between the developmental goals of the world and environmental protection. There is also another misconception that poor countries and poor people cause more damage to the environment,” Modi said, speaking in Hindi.

“Seventeen per cent of the world’s population resides in India. But our contribution of global carbon emissions is only 5%. The main reason behind this is our lifestyle, which is based on the theory of co-existence with nature,” he added.

India has shown over thousands of years, including in times of immense prosperity in the past and as the fastest growing large economy, that its commitment to the environment has not been “diluted even a single bit”, he said.

PM Modi told everyone present there that India’s dedication towards climate commitments is well reflected as it has achieved the target of generating 40% of energy from non-fossil sources nine years ahead of the target of 2030 .The target of blending 10% ethanol in petrol is also achieved within five months ahead of the target. India has became the world’s first fully solar-powered airport and its railway system would become net zero in this decade .

He hoped the rich countries of G7 will support the efforts of India, a huge market for clean energy technologies. “G7 countries can invest in research, innovation, and manufacturing in this field. The scale that India can provide for every new technology can make it affordable for the whole world,” he added.Modi further explained that the health of humans and the planet are interconnected, and that is why India had adopted the approach of “one world, one health”.

Modi said,”During the Covid-19 pandemic, India found creative uses of digital technology for health, and the G7 countries can help India to take such innovations to developing countries”.

He noted that he had called for a movement known as LiFE, or Lifestyle For Environment, at the COP26 meet in Glasgow last year. India launched the Global Initiative for LiFE campaign on the World Environment Day this year. This campaign’s major goal is to encourage an eco-friendly lifestyle. “we should all take the responsibility of increasing the number of triple-P people in our own countries,” he said.

Yoga and traditional medicines in many countries are assets that can be used for holistic health, he said, adding that WHO has decided to set up a global centre for traditional medicine in India. This centre will be a repository of traditional medicine systems from across the world and encourage research in this area.