During the two-day G20 Leaders Summit, hosted by Saudi Arabia over the weekend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi largely focussed on working towards sustainable development and the need to unite on the issue of climate change. He said, as the global community struggles to curb the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, “equally important is to keep the focus on fighting climate change,” which he believed requires an “integrated, comprehensive and holistic” approach. He further urged the global community to deal with environmental issues as trustees and not as owners.
The Indian premier shed light on the progress made by India in these aspects and said that it was “not only meeting [its] Paris agreement targets but also exceeding them.” He said that India is working towards curbing its carbon emissions, eliminating waste, and regenerating natural systems. Further, he said that India is “well on course to achieving 175 GW of energy from clean sources by 2022 and is now looking at a target of 450GW by 2030.”
He also lauded the International Solar Alliance, an 88-country grouping that was created by India and France, for its work in reducing the carbon footprints of its members. Through the alliance, he said, “We plan to mobilise billions of dollars, train thousands of stakeholders and promote research and development in renewable energy.”
While addressing the attendees, he advocated for the importance to increase investment in research and development for finding “new and sustainable technologies,” which he believed should be done “in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration.” Moreover, the Indian Prime Minister highlighted the need to support developing countries in their bid to fight against climate change by helping them acquire sustainable technology and finance. He said, “The entire world can progress faster if there is greater support of technology and finance to the developing world. For humanity to prosper, every single individual must prosper. Rather than seeing labour as a factor of production alone, the focus must be on the human dignity of every worker. Such an approach would be the best guarantee for safeguarding the planet.”
Lastly, PM Modi called on the attendees to view the COVID-19 pandemic as an “important turning point” in history and consequently called for a new global index, which is focused on accountability and transparency in governance. Following the meeting, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that the proposed index would comprise of four key elements, “creation of a vast talent pool; ensuring that technology reaches all segments of the society; transparency in systems of governance; and dealing with Mother Earth with a spirit of trusteeship.”
The attendees of the G20 summit represent the world’s largest economies, which comprise 85% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product. Following the meeting, the Leaders’ Declaration also announced that India will hold the rotating presidency and host the summit in 2023, after the meetings in Italy and Indonesia in 2021 and 2022.