The Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Sunday said that India and Norway would coordinate with each other to put pressure on all countries regarding the climate changes and its actions, which shall, in turn, be followed up with the promised financial development in the developing nations.
At the 13th Conference of Parties (COP 13), the Norwegian Climate and Environment Minister Sveinung Rotevatn revealed, “We have agreed upon working jointly with Norway on the issues including the development of relevant technology and create pressure for quick action on all countries. We also agreed upon strengthening our bond so that we can have joint efforts in waste management, ensuring marine litter goes down rapidly and India’s cooling action plan speeds up.”
The finances, which should have developed due to the advances in climate change adaptation since the last ten years, which approximately amount to $ trillion, never came true. The country, especially the developing ones, were suffering the most due to slow progress owing to several ongoing constraints. Perhaps this is why India has planned to team up with a partner to speed up the process. The COP13 is scheduled to be inaugurated on Monday by India’s Prime Minister and is expected to witness around 1800 delegates from almost 130 countries.
We all complain that metamorphosing to climate changes and economic growth are two separate entities, and they can’t be merged. The assertion turned out to be one of the most debatable topics in the last decade to which the government didn’t seem to respond. The sand clock is inverted as India plans to collaborate with Norway to prove that they can both go hand in hand, without anyone being affected individually.
Norway has introduced India as an essential international entity with regard to climate change and environmental developments. The countries discussed mostly on the issues relating to biodiversity and the opportunity to invest in forest prevention and conserving carbon sinks along with improvements in the waste management system. Norway did admit that they were impressed by our two major environmental initiatives of Beat Plastic pollution and the Clean India campaign.
India and Norway had signed not only the letter of intent for registering the India-Norway Marine Pollution Initiative 2019 but also a Memorandum of Understanding, primarily circumscribing around the India-Norway Dialogue.
In the meeting at COP13, both the countries decided to step up actions that targeted climate change and air pollution and agreed to work closely to raise this agenda. “This is the biggest conference in the world. I can say that 2020 will be a super year for biodiversity and the environment. It will set an agenda for the next decade. I am very happy,” the minister said as he claimed the year 2020 to be the super year for biodiversity environment.
The mascot for the COP13 is ‘Gibi,’ which is an abbreviation for ‘The Great Indian Bustard’. The species is on its verge of extinction, and the idea of the mascot is expected to make people feel concerned about the current environmental scenario and the contemporary declination in various fauna habitat, which were indigenous to India.
As the host, India shall be appointed the presidential post for the next three years. With the theme being, ‘Migratory species connect the planet, and we welcome them home’, India plans to implement swift actions in protecting and conserving various migratory species. Seven species that include dugong, whale shark, and two species of the marine turtle have been identified for the preparation of the Conservation and Recovery Action Plan.
I want to conclude with a quote by Henry David,
“What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on? India is on a mission to change the way we perceive the earth.”