Excellencies,

        India welcomes the Climate Adaptation Summit and applauds the leadership of Prime Minister Mark Rutte towards this cause.

Climate Adaptation is more significant today than ever before.

And, it is a key element of India’s developmental efforts.

We have promised ourselves that:

• We will not just meet our Paris Agreement targets, but exceed them;
• We will not just arrest environmental degradation but reverse it; and,
• We will not just create new capacities but make them an agent for global good.

Our actions show our commitment.

We are targeting 450 gigawatt of renewable energy capacity by 2030.

We are promoting LED lights and saving 38 million tons of carbon-di-oxide emissions annually.

We are going to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

We are providing clean cooking fuel to 80 million rural households.

We are connecting 64 million households to piped water supply.

And, our initiatives have not been restricted to India alone.

The International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure show the power of global climate partnership.

I call upon the Global Commission on Adaptation to work with CDRI to enhance infrastructure resilience globally.

And, I invite all of you to the Third International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure later this year in India.

Excellencies,

        India’s civilizational values teach us that importance of living in harmony with nature.

        Our ancient scripture Yajurveda teaches us that our relationship with planet earth is that of a mother and her child.

If we take care of mother earth, she will continue to nurture us.

To adapt to Climate Change, our lifestyles must also adapt to this ideal.

This sentiment should guide our way forward.    

I thank you!

*****

DS