New Delhi: Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav, while addressing the India-Japan Environment Week here on Friday, said that Japan and India taking over presidencies of the G7 and G20, respectively, is an opportunity to set the agenda and priorities for the future of the world. 

“We look forward to meaningful collaboration with Japan's G7 presidency with India holding the G20 presidency and hope that the fight against climate change will unite the world as one family,” he said, while stressing the need for collective action guided by the founding principles of the Rio Convention to tackle the challenges of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

Further, alluding to the ‘Mission Lifestyle for Environment,’ he invited the global community to be a part of Mission Lifestyle for individual, family, and community-based actions. Mission Lifestyle for Environment, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is envisioned as a global mass movement to nudge individual and collective action to protect and preserve the environment.

Akihiro Nishimura, Minister of the Environment, Japan, noted that the “actions demonstrated by G7 and G 20 countries” are vital to tackling global environmental issues. In this regard, India and Japan, which are taking over the Presidency of G20 and G7, respectively, must closely cooperate to lead discussions among the international society on climate change, biodiversity, circular economy and plastic pollution.

The Japanese Minister also alluded to PM Narendra Modi's Lifestyle for Environment mission and Japanese national movement to drive decarbonisation, and said, "since India and Japan share the common awareness that lifestyle reform is the key to decarbonisation, we shall drive it across the world through our friendship". In addition, Minister Nishimura emphasised the mobilisation of private sector funds to meet the 1.5-degree target by the Paris Agreement.

Subhrakant Panda, President, FICCI, noted the robust trajectory of Indo-Japanese trade and investment ties, owing to the personal relation between PM Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister of Japan, the Late Shinzo Abe. Further, he added, "it is heartening to note that in recent years, special emphasis has been accorded to cooperation in digital infrastructure, climate change countermeasures, and supply chain resilience initiatives for promoting social innovation, to build a decarbonised society and achieve carbon neutrality by 2070".

Susumu Wakamori, President, Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India (JCCI), spoke on the proposals JCCI has submitted to the government. The first among these was establishing the Japan-India bilateral credit mechanism that could serve as an instrument to attract technology and funds from abroad to India. The second is the establishment of inspection stations by car dealers to reduce the number of old and poorly maintained vehicles. He informed us that this system is in use in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan.

India-Japan Environment Week is an initiative of the Ministry of Environment, Japan along with the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and FICCI and JCCI as industry partners. /BI/