The 5-day UN Ocean Summit kicked off today with the Kenyan and Portuguese governments not working together. Leaders from more than 130 countries around the world will decide five days to get an international agreement to protect the world’s oceans, seas and marine resources. Meanwhile, on the first day of the 5-day conference, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, who heads the Indian delegation, held bilateral talks with a number of international ministers attending the summit. At some of these meetings the Minister was joined by other members of the Indian delegation.
Tomorrow, Dr. Jitendra Singh is scheduled to present a statement to India ahead of the full session of the UN House. Other Indian team members from the Ministries of External Affairs, Earth Sciences and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry etc. will also be present. The Ocean Conference comes to a head as the world seeks to address the many challenges that require structural change and Innovative and Green solutions to achieve SDG 14, which calls for Sustainable Conservation and use of seas, oceans and marine resources.
The UN has repeatedly stressed that the world’s oceans are facing serious threats to human activity and will only get worse as the world’s population grows and human activities increase. Speaking to the media, Dr. Jitendra Singh pointed out that India is already at the forefront of Green technology and as stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi the goal of 2030 is to reduce India’s gas emissions by 45 percent by adding 500 gigawatts of renewable energy to the country’s power kitty, thus reducing our billion-ton CO2 emissions.
The Minister also revealed that India has recently launched a national awareness campaign on cleaning plastic and other waste in coastal areas and the equipment will soon be Jan Andolan. Dr. Jitendra Singh said, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has taken a number of steps, plans and policy interventions to protect marine and coastal ecosystems, mangroves and coral reefs.
