United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said that he "really wanted" Prime Minister Narendra Modi to participate in a crucial climate change summit in New York next week to mobilise political will for a universal and meaningful climate agreement.
United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-moon "very much" hopes that Narendra Modi attends the UN General Assembly in New York later this year and particularly participate in the climate change summit, a top official of the world body said on Tuesday.
The head of the UN's climate science panel, Jim Skea, has expressed concern over the accelerating pace of climate impacts, saying scientists have been surprised by the speed of temperature rise. Skea attributed the worsening situation to inaction on climate change and highlighted the need for urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He also addressed concerns about the scientific messaging and the perception of imposed climate policies, emphasizing the importance of involving societies and people in climate change action.
Maharashtra Governor Jishnu Dev Varma has advocated for a bamboo-based economy to drive sustainable development, create rural livelihoods, and offer green alternatives to plastic. Speaking at a summit, he highlighted bamboo's crucial role in climate change mitigation, its potential to empower local communities, and its benefits for farmers.
With less than two months to go for the climate-change summit in Copenhagen, India has resolved to re-brand itself as a deal-maker.
At the roundtable Two, one of the four simultaneous meetings at the conference, a strongly worded statement by Minister of External Affairs S M Krishna said that the talks should focus on the developed countries who are reluctant to meet their commitments on emission reduction, let alone provide technological and financial support to developing countries.
"From the Indian point of view, if I were a politician, I'd continue to play it hard," explains Mike Hulme, professor at the University of East Anglia's prestigious climate change programme. "From a rational perspective, India has to do what's best for its people."
Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to India for the BRICS summit is a pivotal diplomatic event poised to significantly impact bilateral ties and global cooperation amidst ongoing international instability.
And the US won the evening
The overwhelming feeling at the end of COP 27 was that despite decades of meetings and landmark accords, like the Paris Agreement, the world was still not doing enough to slow the climate crisis, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Many people who recognise the grave implications of climate change find it difficult to grapple with it. The problem is too big and thinking about it can be unbearable, says Rajni Bakshi.
Thunberg has been protesting outside the Swedish Parliament every Friday since August 2018 against inaction over climate change.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on the likely outcome of the COP26 summit despite the grand promises and declarations to end climate change.
India has highlighted 13 key outcomes from the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, focusing on enhanced cooperation in security, counter-terrorism, and addressing transnational threats. These outcomes include the establishment of a Universal Centre for Countering Challenges and Threats to Security, a strong stance against state-sponsored terrorism, and agreements on narcotics control, climate change, and artificial intelligence, reinforcing India's engagement in the Eurasian region.
13-year-old Yugaratna Srivastava from Lucknow addressing the United Nations Climate Change Summit on Tuesday at New York, representing the voice of the global youth on the issue.
How the UN's flagship climate summit lost its direction and what's at stake.
The Summit on April 28-29, to be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will also unveil rules and regulations for the ambitious SAARC University which is in the process of being set up in Delhi.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday described BRICS as an important global forum, highlighting the grouping's growing demographic and economic weight and noting that its members account for around half of the world's population and 40 percent of global GDP.
India supports "a fresh SAARC position on Climate Change for COP (Conference of Parties) 16 in accordance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Chnage principles and the Bali Action Plan," External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said, addressing the SAARC Council of Ministers.
Challenges posed by climate change hit centre stage in 2009 which saw the government doing a flip-flop ahead of the crucial Copenhagen summit even as the Opposition and experts alleged that India succumbed to pressure from rich nations on emission cuts.
The divergent utterances by environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh and prime minister's special envoy on climate change Shyam Saran have created a good deal of ambiguity within and outside the country over the government's strategy for these talks.
The host country has been pressing for a discussion at the 10th G20 Summit on the conflicts in Syria and the worst migrant crisis since World War II.
Six countries from the Green Group want to link climate change with the issue of availability of water at the ongoing UN summit on climate change in Cancun in Mexico.
India lost around 38.5 thousand hectares of tropical forest in the last decade. Nearly 14 per cent of the country's tree cover! It is one thing for Modi to announce that India will reach a net-zero level of emissions in 2070. But if it is serious, it needs to start today, points out Ramesh Menon.
Alarmed by the confusion created by the public expression of divergent opinions by his key advisors on climate change, the prime minister summoned Saran and Ramesh and asked them to put their heads together and come forward with an agreed text that would reflect both their concerns, a senior government official confirmed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to pitch for a united global approach in dealing with the situation in Afghanistan and combating challenges of climate change and the coronavirus pandemic at the two-day G-20 Summit in Italy beginning October 30, people familiar with the development said on Sunday.
During talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Principal Secretary T K A Nair, Ban inquired about India's views on climate change both in terms of the developments at the national level and the climate summit to be held at the headquarters, next week, Indian authorities said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday India would continue to work with like-minded people to make the Copenhagen climate change conference a success.
Downing Street said Johnson reiterated the year 2021 as an important one for UK-India ties and also re-emphasised the UK's commitment to the wider Indo-Pacific region, ahead of the first deployment of the HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier group to the region next year.
Senior journalist Darryl D'Monte reports exclusively for Rediff.com from Paris.
Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the BRICS summit, urging the bloc to play a significant role in achieving peace and tranquillity in West Asia and the Gulf region. He highlighted BRICS' growth over two decades, its efforts in tackling global challenges, and its steadfastness in safeguarding the interests of the Global South. Xi called for opposing the Cold War mentality, strengthening multilateralism, and promoting cooperation in emerging domains like AI, as China prepares to chair the next summit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on the sidelines of the climate summit here and discussed ways to further sustainable development, steps to mitigate climate change and vaccine research. The meeting between Modi and the American business magnate, whose foundation is focusing on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, took place after the former launched the Initiative for the Resilient Island States (IRIS) for developing infrastructure of small island nations. Prime Minister Modi expressed appreciation for the work being done by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
India and Africa on Wednesday asked the developed counties to take "ambitious actions" to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and also provide finance and technology to the developing counties so that they could effectively address the impact of climate change.
The developing countries fear that the mysterious draft prepared by Denmark would be sprung upon hours before the high-level segment of climate talks begins, making it difficult for any world leader to oppose.
A top US delegate at Copenhagen summit denied the possibility that hacked e-mails had made the case for sceptics stronger and said the incident would not affect the fate of climate change bill in the American Senate.
Women Inspiring Network (WIN) has launched 'WIN Connect', an AI-powered platform designed to connect global women leaders and enhance opportunities across various sectors. Unveiled in New York, the platform aims to leverage AI to facilitate networking, access to capital, and business growth for its 10,000-strong network across 50 countries.
Over the years, India-EU ties have grown, and covered trade, investment, climate change, science and technology, space, digital, mobility, and connectivity.
India hopes to bridge gap with US to buffer against a Paris agreement that restricts country's developmental space.
Global warming could cause the death of a quarter of a million children next year as a result of natural disasters causing an increase in injuries, water-borne diseases and starvation.
Subject to finance & tech from rich countries through an ambitious, fair Paris deal
