Combating climate change rooted in India's ethos: Swaraj

Brussels [Belgium], June 22 (ANI): External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj has reiterated India's commitment to combat the climate change, saying, "it is rooted in our ethos."

"Our commitment to combat the climate change is rooted in our ethos, which (our ethos) consider the earth as (our) mother. A majority of the Indian population is dependent on mother earth and its rivers, sea, land including food, health, and energy," Swaraj said while addressing a conference on climate, security and peace in Brussels.

"We will have to work in coordination with all stakeholders for our collective well being," she added.

Swaraj used the occasion to underline the significance of the 2015 Paris agreement.

"The world needs a similar roadmap (referring to the Paris agreement) for finance and technology, in absence of it, the developing countries will fail in achieving their Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)."

The Paris Climate Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020.

It aims to respond to the global climate change threat by keeping a global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in the 21st century.

"A scale of resources required for ambitious and effective achievement of the Paris agreement over the 2030 agenda is enormous," she added.

As of September 2017, 195 UNFCCC members have signed the agreement, out of which 162 of them have ratified it.

Earlier, the External Affairs Minister had said that India and European Union (EU) stood shoulder to shoulder and united by shared values and principles in the midst of complex challenges to global peace and security.

"As robust democracies, we share values of liberty, equality, pluralism and respect for rule of law. As multicultural and multilingual societies, both India and Belgium are also accustomed to celebrating diversities and differences within our people."

Sushma is in the last leg of her week-long tour. Before Belgium, she visited Italy, France and Luxembourg.

The External Affairs Minister will return to India on June 23. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI