Global climate action summit has recently taken place in California.
Why it is important?
The Global Climate Action Summit will bring leaders and people together from around the world to “Take Ambition to the Next Level.”
It will showcase the actions states and regions, cities, companies, investors and civil society have taken already to reduce their emissions.
What are its distinct features?
Review - The Summit comes at the half-way mark between the Paris Agreement and the 2020 timeline to recalibrate Nationally determined Contributions (NDCs).
It provided a perfect opportunity to review the progress achieved thus far, recognise the roadblocks and gear up for increased commitments.
The positive momentum from this summit should generate a fresh wave of action globally to help pull down the emissions curve by 2020.
Participation - Traditionally, climate conferences have focused on heads of state and national governments.
However, this summit secured participation of leaders from cities, states, environmentalists, corporates, investors and NGOs, that is “non-state actors”, on a mass scale.
Private institutions and civil society came forward to supplement the state’s efforts.
With steady inflow of “green” private capital, governments would now be expected to up the efforts and announce higher commitments.
Focus - It also focussed on how climate change has impacted women and the steps needed for their empowerment.
It was also witnessed that women themselves were leading this agenda as in the case of Innovative Finance for Climate, Resilience and Energy, which had three women out of the four participants.
Achievements - The summit showcased real people and their achievements, who have successfully implemented plans to reduce carbon footprint.
This sharing of success stories, technological innovations and creative policies was highly educational and impactful, and should inspire all stakeholders to put extra efforts in the days to come.
It also points towards the emergence of “bottom up” climate action that is rooted firmly enough to ward off any conflicting individual or belief.
What are the advantages for India?
The summit helped cement India’s credentials as a climate action leader.
It showcased some great work happening in India, by both industries as well as local governments.
Several large corporates have adopted low carbon business methods across their entire supply chain.
Innovations such as Heat Action Plans, energy conservation building codes, electric vehicles and solar pumps for farmers also bear testimony to India’s efforts to cut down carbon dioxide levels.
What lies ahead?
The start-up community and investors at the event acknowledged growing contributions from private renewable energy providers.
Thus the summit heralded a new phase in climate action, marked by bolder commitments and speedier implementation, with wider participation.
The movement against climate change is now clearly beyond individuals and countries.
