New Delhi: India on Tuesday reiterated that sustainable development can only be achieved with collective efforts and that New Delhi will continue to work towards it.
According to ANI, the first Secretary, Sneha Dubey, while speaking at UNGA about Sustainable Development said, "We believe our human-centric approach would be a force multiplier of global good".
Over the issue of climate action, Dubey said that words must be accompanied by concrete action, "India is the only G20 country on the course to meet the Paris targets".
"A global Net-Zero should be based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibility and of equity. In order to vacate the carbon space in 2050 for developing countries to grow, the developed countries should do Net-Minus," she added.
The Indian diplomat said that there still exists a large gap to achieve commitment by developed countries to provide US Dollars 100 billion for climate action. "Our initiatives like the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure are examples of India's contribution to global climate partnership."
She noted that India is one of the top three countries that has gained forest areas in the last decade.
"Around 3 million hectares of forest cover has been added over the same period. We are happy to share that there has been a significant rise in the population of lions, tigers, leopards and Gangetic river dolphins in India in the last five to seven years.
Highlighting the danger of land degradation, Dubey said that India has worked to implement the UN Convention to Combat Desertification with an aim to not just arrest environmental degradation but reverse it.
"We are also working towards restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030," she said.
She informed that the India-UN Development Partnership Fund has already supported projects in 48 countries including in Pacific Islands, Africa, Caribbean, for various SDGs through a US dollars 150 million multi-year pledge by the Government of India.