The 3rd meeting of the Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) under the India G20 Presidency commenced on Sunday with a beach clean-up drive at Juhu beach in Maharashtra’s Mumbai.

Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and Union Minister Ashwini Choubey along with G20 delegates took part in a beach cleanup campaign organized with an aim to promote a sustainable and climate-resilient blue economy. G20 delegates from different countries are attending the 3rd ECSWG meeting starting in Mumbai on Sunday.

“Representatives from 20 countries participated in the beach cleanup at Juhu today. This is important for the environment as we face challenges of climate change and global warming,” Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said after participating in the beach clean-up.

The ECSWG meeting will continue till May 23. The main focus of this meeting will be on steering the discussions around Communique with a more outcome-driven approach.

The Beach Clean Up would be followed by another side event, the Ocean 20 Dialogue, said the official statement.

The beach clean-up is an initiative aimed at enhancing awareness and sensitizing citizens on the role of community participation in safeguarding our coasts and oceans.

The Ocean 20 platform, launched during the Indonesia Presidency Dialogue, was aimed to advance ideation and action for ocean solutions.

To ensure continuity and build on the initiative, the Indian Presidency is demonstrating active leadership by anchoring the Ocean 20 Dialogue in the 3rd ECSWG which will focus on three significant pillars of the Blue Economy.

Both the side events are aimed at promoting a sustainable and climate-resilient Blue Economy, said the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

The sessions on the first day of the meeting will cover various aspects of the Blue Economy. The first session of the day will be on science, technology, and innovation for a Blue Economy. The subsequent session will be on policy, governance, and participation, with the concluding session on establishing blue finance mechanisms for Blue Economy.

The sessions have been designed to have a panel discussion followed by engaging discussions with the audience. The deliberations will be aimed at working towards the well-being of the oceans and the need to make conscious efforts towards reversing damage to them and protecting our marine resources.

The next two days of the 3rd ECSWG will involve discussions on the draft Ministerial Communique with deliberations tuned towards achieving a consensus amongst the G20 countries. The closed-door sessions will conclude on a way-forward note for the fourth ECSWG.

The Environment and Climate Sustainability Group (ECSWG) under India’s G20 Presidency aims to enhance cooperation among the G20 nations to develop state-of-the-art solutions for the sustainable management of oceans and marine biodiversity conservation. The need for concerted global efforts and immediate action to address the current scenario has been consistently underscored in the meetings.

The third ECSWG meeting is a critical step in fostering the efforts of the G20 countries, invitee countries, and international organizations toward a sustainable and resilient future. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is committed to working with all stakeholders to drive outcomes under each of the priority areas, and to achieve a sustainable and resilient future for all, said the statement issued by the Ministry.