Climate change resilience actions, in step with India  

Context:

• Last year was a year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet, for Australians, it also started with the most devastating bushfires in our history.
• For all its challenges, 2020 demonstrated the importance of innovation, resources and leadership to protect and support our communities and countries.

Global Issue:

• Climate change is an increasingly pressing global issue, which will require our collective will to ensure a sustainable future for our countries and for the world.
• By working together, we can reduce emissions — which will remain critical to ensuring global average temperatures stay well below 2° Centigrade — and adapt and build resilience to the climate change already occurring.

Opportunity at summit:

• The virtual Climate Adaptation Summit hosted by the Netherlands provided a valuable opportunity to the international community for collective action to realise a more climate-resilient future.
• At the summit, Australia reaffirmed our commitment to ambitious and practical action to combat the impacts of climate change at home, in our region, and around the world.
• The recent bushfires demonstrated the importance of bringing together traditional Indigenous knowledge about the land with modern science.

Ensuring resilience:

• Australia has committed over 1,500 crore to making our natural resources, environment and water infrastructure more resilient to drought and climate disasters.
• More than Rs. 200 crore have been spend on bushfire recovery efforts, supporting local communities to design their own economic, social and environmental recovery.
• Australia has pledged at least 150 crore over the period 2020 to 2025 for global climate finance; Rs. 50 crore of this funding will directly help our Pacific neighbours deploy renewable energy, and improve their climate change and disaster resilience.

Working with India:

• Australia’s strong support for the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, spearheaded by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is another example of how we are working together with partners — such as India — to help ensure our infrastructure is resilient and adapts to the effects of a changing climate.
• Engagement with the International Solar Alliance — a global initiative designed to harness solar power to provide for the energy needs of members of the alliance.
• Work with India on Water Resources Management is another important initiative initiated by India and designed to further enhance each country’s water management capabilities and share expertise and best practice.

Green technologies:

• Australia is also investing in and developing the green technologies of tomorrow.
• Indeed, Australia is aiming to leverage Rs. 7,000 crore of new investment in low emissions technologies by 2030.
• Technology Investment Roadmap — a comprehensive plan to invest in the technologies we need to bring emissions down, here and around the world.

Partnerships are key:

• Whether in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, or tackling the ongoing challenge posed by climate change, we need to embrace innovation and strengthen global partnerships.
• We need to consider those most in need, engage all stakeholders equally and respect indigenous culture and knowledge in taking climate action.

Conclusion:

Our scientists tell us that, even with the most ambitious global emissions reductions, we will still need to adapt to changes in our climate over the coming decades. Practical actions that help us adapt to those changes and strengthen the resilience of our local environments are critical.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/climate-change-resilience-actions-in-step-with-india/article33825912.ece