Collaboration is crucial to tackle climate change challenges: Bhupender Yadav

Chennai: Collaboration among nations is crucial for tackling complex and inter-connected challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, desertification and pollution, among others, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav said here on Friday.

He stressed the need to further strengthen the collective understanding of pressing climate and environment challenges, and to lead global efforts in tackling them, while addressing the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministerial meeting under the Presidency of India here.

All the G20 members are coastal states and have a serious responsibility to protect and conserve coastal and ocean resources and use them responsibly, he said.

"India has consistently been a source of solutions, while historically not being part of the problems. We have taken decisive domestic actions, set ambitious targets, and actively guided international efforts through various initiatives like the ISA, CDRI, Mission LiFE and International Big Cat Alliance," the Minister said.

As the world's most populous democracy and a vibrant emerging economy, India sought to lead the global fight against climate change, together with the G2, he said.

The meet took up several new and important thematic priorities for deliberations and for the first time in a G20 forum, there was a discussion on the pressing issues of forest fires and mining degraded areas as priority landscapes, he said.

"Our experiences and best practices to restore them are included in Presidency documents, and these can be useful in implementing measures to achieve our target for land degradation neutrality," Yadav said.

The meeting also addressed the issue of integrated water resource management and captured best practices in the G20 in a compendium that can be a useful resource.

The G20 nations have agreed on a comprehensive set of principles on LiFE styles for Sustainable Development, through the Development Ministers, he said.

"We have worked on developing the 'G20 High Level Principles for a sustainable and resilient blue or ocean-based economy.'

These principles could be used on a voluntary basis as a framework for bringing sustainability into the ocean economy," the Minister said.

Though significant progress has been made, the developmental and climate goals are yet to be reached, he said.

"We need to further our efforts in reaching our sustainable development goal targets with focus on eradication of poverty, equitable access to energy and resources, food and water security," the Minister added.