The 13th Conference of Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals was held on Sunday. On the sidelines, Sveinung Rotevatn, Norwegian Climate and Environment Minister, and Prakash Javadekar, India’s Environment Minister, joined hands to work towards tackling bilateral and global environmental issues.
Rotevatn said, “Norway sees India as an important international player on climate and environment. India is showing the world that economic growth and bold action on climate can go hand in hand. We are impressed with India’s efforts to beat plastic pollution including ‘Clean India Campaign’”
The two countries have decided to work towards pressurising countries to take progressive steps in battling climate change. This will include the development of relevant technology. The two representatives also looked into issues such as conserving biodiversity, forest preservation, promoting carbon sinks and reducing plastic pollution and the use of microplastics.
In order to further global action on these issues, the Norwegian and Indian ministers highlighted the importance of acknowledging the commitment of countries to provide finances to developing countries to further the cause. Javadekar said that finances worth $1 trillion have not yet come to India in the past 10 years.
Javadekar and Rotevatn also looked into the importance of reducing marine littering and working towards a ‘blue economy’. Consequently, the two countries have now established new collaborations on Integrated Ocean Management & Research.
This is a step forward for Norwegian-Indian bilateral ties to combat environmental issues. Last year, the two countries signed the letter of intent to establish the India-Norway Marine Pollution Initiative and a Memorandum of Understanding to establish Indian-Norwegian dialogue to combat ocean pollution.
Image Source: Time of India