The prime minister also listed various measures taken by the government in fighting climate change.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for fighting climate change, saying that it must not be done in silos but in an integrated, comprehensive and holistic way. He also said that India was well on its way to achieving the targets under the Paris Agreement. “I am glad to share that India is not only meeting our Paris Agreement target, but also exceeding them,” the prime minister said, while addressing the “Safeguarding the Planet” side event at the Group of 20 summit. “India has taken concrete action in many areas. We have made LED [light emitting diode] lights popular. This saves 38 million tonnes [3.8 crore tonnes] of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Smoke-free kitchens have been provided to over 80 million [8 crore] households through our Ujjwala Scheme.” He also spoke about India’s effort to eliminate single-use plastics and pointed out that forests were expanding in the country, where the population of lions and tigers was also increasing. “We aim to restore 26 million [2.6 crore] hectares of degraded land by 2030, and, we are encouraging a circular economy,” Modi said. “India is making next-generation infrastructure such as metro networks, waterways and more.” The prime minister said that India was contributing towards a cleaner environment by meeting the goal of 175 gigawatts of renewable energy before the target of 2022.
