Protecting, Restoring Ecosystems Can Help Reduce Extent Of Climate Change: Yadav
Protecting and restoring ecosystems can help reduce the extent of climate change and cope with its impacts, said the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav in Sapporo, Japan.
Speaking at the plenary session at the G7 ministers' meeting, he said that it is therefore important that we address issues related to climate change in tandem with environmental action, holistically.
"We do hope that this is at the core of deliberations of this meeting of the climate, energy and environment ministers of the G7 countries," the minister added.
Yadav said climate change, desertification and biodiversity loss are deeply interlinked and pose existential challenges to humanity.
In response to these challenges, Rio Conventions have made remarkable progress, through a consensus-driven approach, based on principles, he said.
Yadav said that very recently at the CBD conference in Montreal we adopted the Global Biodiversity Framework and at CoP27 at Sharm el Sheikh, landmark decisions on issues like the Loss and Damage fund were taken.
However, there still is a long way to go, according to the Yadav.
The minister said that India in its presidency of G-20, for example, has taken this approach and embedded mitigation and adaptation deeply across priority areas of arresting land degradation, accelerating ecosystem restoration, and enriching biodiversity.
He said the approach promotes a sustainable and climate-resilient blue economy; encouraging resource efficiency and circular economy; with Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) as a cross-cutting theme, thus mainstreaming climate change, and addressing the impacts in an ambitious, decisive and action-oriented manner.
