Equity and climate justice should be the touchstone of any global climate response, and only then can it be held that strategies that are just and “in reverence to Mother Earth” have been formulated, India’s Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Tuesday.

“There is a need for sustainable lifestyle as matters of consumerism are grave threats to the environment. Habit and attitude are much a part of the solution. Equity and climate justice should be the touchstone of any global climate response. Only then we can say that we have formulated strategies that are just and in reverence for Mother Earth, our only planet. There is no planet B,” he said at the 20th Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture on the occasion of Seth’s 100th birth anniversary organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

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In the event held virtually, Yadav spoke about the multi-dimensional approach to all pillars of sustainable development. “We are on track to achieve and even exceed our targets (Nationally Determined Contributions) under the Paris Agreement to combat climate change,” he said.

Listing out how India leads in climate actions, the Minister highlighted the need for a more responsive multilateral approach in which all countries take their fair share of the burden in responding to the global threat of climate change.

“Science is very clear. The recent IPCC (Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change) report has sounded code red. The findings reaffirm (that) historical emissions are a source of the current climate crisis. The equitable carbon and development space to achieve sustainable development requires new consideration of principles of common but differentiated responsibility and respective capability and polluters’ pay,” he said.

Warning the rich nations, he said: “Climate change mitigation is necessary but not sufficient. Even if the world stops CNG emissions, hypothetically, still the accumulated greenhouse gases will lead the climate impact requiring new considerations of climate change adaptation measures.”

Developing countries are highly vulnerable to climate change impact due to the dependence of the large population on climate-sensitive sector for livelihood, he said, adding, “Long term strategies need to be guided by not only mitigation but also by climate adaptation with a clear roadmap for provision of finance and technology.”

Tata Power Managing Director and CEO Praveer Sinha spoke on the ‘Energy Transition and Way Forward for India’, and Trustee, Tata Trusts, R.K. Krishna Kumar and Excel Industries Chairman Emeritus, G. Narayana also spoke on the occasion.

Seth was the builder of Tata Chemicals Ltd, and the TERI website describes him as someone who believed in and practiced the efficient use of energy and the promotion of renewable sources for the production and supply of energy. He established the Tata Energy Research Institute in 1974, which later became TERI.