Your Majesty, 

Excellencies,

Today,  we are focused on  saving our citizens and economies  from the effects of the global pandemic . Equally important is to keep  our focus on  fighting climate change. Climate change must be fought not in silos but in an integrated, comprehensive and holistic way.  Inspired by our traditional ethos of living in harmony with the environment,  and the commitment of my Government, India has adopted  low-carbon and  climate-resilient  development practices. 

I am glad to share that  India is not only meeting  our Paris Agreement targets,  but also exceeding them.   India has taken  concrete action in many areas.    We have made  LED lights popular.  This saves  38 million tons of  Carbon Dioxide  emissions per year.  Smoke free kitchens have been provided to over 80 million households through our Ujjwala Scheme.  This is among the largest clean energy drives globally. 

There are efforts to eliminate single-use plastics;   Our forest cover is Expanding ; The lion  and tiger  population is increasing;  We aim to restore  26 million hectares of degraded  land by 2030;   And, we are encouraging a circular economy.  India is making  next-generation infrastructure such as  metro networks,  water-ways and more.  In addition to convenience  and efficiency ,  they will also contribute  to a cleaner environment.  We will meet our goal of 175 Giga Watts  of renewable energy  well before the target of 2022.  Now, we are taking a big step ahead  by seeking to achieve  450 Giga Watts  by 2030.   

Your Majesty, 

Excellencies,

The International Solar Alliance  is among the fastest growing International Organisations, with 88 signatories .   With plans to mobilise  billions of dollars  train thousands of stake-holders,  and promote research and development in renewable energy, the ISA will contribute to reducing   carbon  foot-print.   One more example  is the Coalition  for  Disaster  Resilient  Infrastructure.   

18 countries - including 9 from among  the G20 - and 4 international organisations  have already joined the Coalition . CDRI has started work on increasing resilience of  critical  infrastructure.  Infra damage during natural disasters is a subject that has not got the attention it deserves.   The poorer nations are specially impacted by this.  Therefore, this Coalition is important.  

Your Majesty, 

Excellencies,

 This is the best time  for further increasing research and  innovation in  new and  sustainable technologies.   We should do so with a spirit of cooperation   and  collaboration.   The entire world can progress faster  if there is greater support of technology  and finance to the developing world. 

Your Majesty, 

Excellencies,    

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  our planet.    Thank you.

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DS/AK