India reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable development, equitable climate action and ecosystem-based approaches at the Ministerial Meeting of the G20 Working Group on Climate and Environmental Sustainability held in Cape Town, South Africa on Thursday.
“India truly believes in and supports ecosystem-based approaches, participatory implementation and landscape-level conservation models as proposed in the Biodiversity and Conservation Stand,” said Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, while delivering India’s national statement. The minister warned against the commodification of biodiversity and called for deeper global reflection on the issue.
Yadav congratulated the South African presidency for identifying six thematic priorities that address global environmental challenges, from biodiversity conservation to ocean health, and said India looked forward to building on the crucial work done by the South African presidency and working closely with the incoming presidency.
Global recognition welcome
On the issues of land degradation, desertification, drought and water sustainability, India has welcomed the global recognition of land restoration as both an ecological and economic opportunity. Yadav called for co-developed non-restrictive technology transfer and proposed the establishment of a “G20 Knowledge and Solutions Exchange Platform” to promote sharing of best practices. He emphasized the need for voluntary and flexible global standards with a strong focus on women, youth and smallholder farmers.
On chemicals and waste management, the minister appreciated the G20’s emphasis on circular economy principles and shared India’s experience with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as scalable models. He stressed that global frameworks for chemicals management should remain voluntary and determined at the national level, warning against the introduction of commercial or prescriptive technology standards that could burden small and medium-sized enterprises and developing economies.
Support for integrating actions
On climate change and just transitions, Yadav reiterated India’s support for the integration of climate action with development priorities, driven by equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC). He emphasized the need for support in finance, technology and capacity building to ensure a just transition across all sectors.
On air quality, India supported cooperative capacity building but cautioned against one-size-fits-all approaches that do not take national context into account.
Yadav supported marine spatial planning as a means of promoting sustainable development and biodiversity conservation. He has supported voluntary global efforts to address the problem of Abandoned, Lost and Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) while preserving the livelihoods of small-scale fishermen. He strongly urged that efforts to decarbonise maritime transport must be based on equity and climate justice, with clearly defined implementation modalities for developing countries.
