Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday said that countries should work together — just the same way they are engaged in finding a vaccine for Covid-19 — towards making climate technology an open source and available at affordable cost. “Today, as the world is unitedly engaged in finding a vaccine for novel coronavirus, likewise we should have climate technology as open source which must be available at affordable cost,” the minister said. He was speaking during the first virtual interaction with 30 countries in the 11th session of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue. The Climate Dialogue witnessed India along with other countries deliberating over ways and means to tackle the challenge of reinvigorating economies and societies after Covid-19, while enhancing collective resilience and catalysing climate action while also supporting in particular those most vulnerable.
This year’s dialogue came at a crucial juncture when countries are tackling the Covid-19 pandemic to save lives, overcoming social and economic consequences of the pandemic while also preparing to move into the implementation phase of the Paris Agreement under UNFCCC in post-2020 period. Expressing solidarity with the world as it battles the pandemic, Javadekar highlighted how the crisis has taught us that we can survive on less. Asking the world community to adopt more sustainable consumption patterns in line with requirement of sustainable lifestyles, he said that this was “first mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Paris COP”. Stressing on the issue of climate finance, Javadekar said, “We must plan for $1 trillion in grants to developing world immediately.”
The minister mentioned that India’s Nationally Determined Contributions spanning a 10- year time-frame are ambitious and are also compliant. The first virtual Climate Dialogue was the eleventh session of Petersberg Climate Dialogue which has been hosted by Germany since 2010 to provide a forum for informal high-level political discussions, focusing both on international climate negotiations and the advancement of climate action. The Petersberg Climate Dialogue was co-chaired by Germany and United Kingdom, the incoming presidency of 26th Conference of Parties (COP 26) to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNF C C C ) . The dialogue saw participation from Ministers and representatives of about 30 countries. T h e m i n i s t e r a l s o participated in an IndoGerman bilateral meeting with Svenja Shulze, Minister, Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany. This bilateral meeting was held via video-conference just before the Petersberg Climate Dialogue. It covered discussions on a range of issues covering climate change, conservation of biodiversity and technical cooperation with Germany in these areas. The situation in both countries arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, and recovery efforts, were also discussed.