Developing countries need support to combat climate change: India
New Delhi, June 22: Reminding the developed world of their commitments to developing countries, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday said developing countries need support to combat climate change.
Speaking at a European Union (EU) High Level Event on Climate Change in Brussels, Sushma Swaraj said that the capacity of developing countries to translate their political commitments into tangible initiatives and projects gets constrained by lack of predictable, sustained and adequate finances and technologies.
"The scale of resources required for the ambitious and effective achievement of the Paris Agreement or the 2030 Agenda is enormous," she said.
"The need for global partnerships, in this regard, is recognised in these processes and is at the core of all solutions offered therein."
Under the landmark Paris Climate Agreement, from 2020 onward, a minimum flow of $100 billion annually must be ensured from developed world to support the developing countries to meet their climate commitments or as planned by their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
India would require at least $2.5 trillion to meet its 2030 climate goals. Recently, the government had informed two of its projects had received $134.4 million from the Global Climate Fund (GCF).
Sushma Swaraj said that if these major documents are not implemented to reflect equity and principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibility, or fall short of the targets because the developing countries did not receive the requisite support, it would be a setback to all the effort put in by countries in a spirit of togetherness.
Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) is a principle within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that acknowledges the different capabilities and differing responsibilities of individual countries in addressing climate change.
"I may add here that the schedule for phasing out of HFCs (hydroflurocarbons) under the Montreal Protocol could be achieved as it was accompanied with a robust financial package to help developing countries make the transition to cleaner
technologies," Sushma Swaraj said to make her point.
"The world needs a similar road map for finance and technology if we have to achieve the goals set out in the Convention and its Paris Agreement," she stated.
"In its absence, developing countries will face serious constraints in achieving their existing NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions). Any expectations of them to enhance their ambitions should be matched with enhanced support."
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Time has come to implement Women's Reservation Act: PM Modi's letter to LS, RS floor leaders
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New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the time has come for the implementation of the Women's Reservation Act in its true spirit and the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections are conducted with the quota for women in place.
In a letter to the floor leaders of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, ahead of the three-day special sittings of Parliament, Modi also asked all members to come together in one voice to pass the amendments to the women's reservation law, officially known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
"After extensive deliberations, we have reached the conclusion that the time has now come to implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in its true spirit across the country.
"It is imperative that the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections are conducted with women's reservation in place," the Prime Minister said in his letter dated April 11.
The Budget Session of Parliament has been extended, and a special three-day sitting of the House has been convened on April 16 to 18.
The Women's Reservation Act will ensure an increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, of which 273 will be reserved for women.
The provision to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution in 2023.
However, the women's quota would have come into effect only after the completion of the delimitation exercise on the basis of the 2027 Census. This meant the reservation would not have become enforceable before 2034 if the present law remains as is.
To implement it from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, changes were needed in the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam; hence, the government is holding a special session to pass the amendments to the law.
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