India Tackling Climate Change "In A Very Direct Way": PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that India remains committed to meeting the needs of the poorest and the most vulnerable, by building the next generation infrastructure to realize their aspirations.

In a video message at the inaugural session of the fourth edition of the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, PM Modi said that the solemn promise of the Sustainable Development Goals is to leave no one behind.

The Prime Minister said that infrastructure is about people and providing them high quality, dependable, and sustainable services in an equitable manner. "People must be at the heart of any infrastructure growth story. And, that is exactly what we in India are doing", he said.

The Prime Minister said that in order to make future resilient work should be done towards a 'Resilient Infrastructure Transition'. Resilient infrastructure can also be the centrepiece of our wider adaptation efforts. "If we make infrastructure resilient, we prevent disasters not only for ourselves but for many future generations", he added.

The session was also addressed by Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida and President of Madagascar, Andry Nirina Rajoelina.

India is scaling-up the provision of fundamental services in India in the areas of education, health, drinking water, sanitation, electricity, transport and much more, said the Prime Minister. "We are also tackling climate change in a very direct way. That is why, at COP-26 we have committed to attain 'Net Zero' by 2070, in parallel with our developmental efforts," he said

The Prime Minister talked about the importance of infrastructure in unleashing the human potential and said that damage to infrastructure leads to lasting damage for generations. In this context, the Prime Minister asked "with modern technology and knowledge at our disposal, can we create resilient infrastructure that is built to last?" Recognition of this challenge under-pins the creation of the CDRI (Coalition of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure), he said.

He also noted that the coalition has expanded and made valuable contributions. He mentioned the initiative on 'Infrastructure for Resilient Island States' that was launched at COP-26 and CDRI's work on Resilient Airports studying 150 airports around the world.

The 'Global Assessment of Disaster Resilience of Infrastructure Systems' that is being led by CDRI will help create global knowledge that would be immensely valuable, PM Modi said.

At the outset, he also reminded the people that the solemn promise of the sustainable development goals is to leave no one behind.

"We remain committed to meeting the needs of the poorest and the most vulnerable by building the next generation infrastructure to realize their aspirations," he said.

The ICDRI is being hosted in collaboration with the United States government and is held from May 4 to 6 in New Delhi, in both offline and online modes.