India on Saturday asked developed countries to enhance the descaling of emissions to help the global community achieve its goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav also hoped the developed countries would make good their commitments on finance for combating climate change.

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This would provide space for countries like India to achieve the development required for its people, which would provide necessary defence against the impacts of climate change, environmental degradation, and pollution, he said while addressing the plenary session of the G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment in Sapporo, Japan.

He said that since the advent of the industrial revolution, there has been an enormous disproportionate emission of Green House Gases (GHGs) to achieve economic growth and development. The over-exploitation of natural resources has also led to widespread environmental degradation. This has come at the cost of altering the balance of nature, putting at serious risk the existence of the planet Earth, he added.

Yadav said that to save the planet from the challenges of climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity, there was a need for collective action guided by the founding principles of the Rio Conventions. ”We have made some progress collectively. However, there is an urgent need for greater action to deal with the three challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution,” he added.

He said; ”our actions have so far focused on creating a policy framework to combat climate change. It is time that governments across the world focus on making this a participative process at the level of individuals.”

The Indian minister said individual actions have the potential of a revolution. At COP 27 in Sharm el Sheikh, the importance of sustainable lifestyles and sustainable patterns of consumption and production to combat climate change was underscored, he recalled.

Yadav requested all countries around the table to take lead in setting an example for the world in the collective fight against climate change, environmental degradation and pollution.