‘Sustainable Development is our priority’: Prime Minister
Prime Minister inaugurates international conference on rule of law for
supporting the 2030 development agenda/sustainable development goals
‘Developed world should follow India’s example of taxing coal at $ 6 per tonne’: Environment Minister
The
Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has emphasized that sustainable
development is our priority. Delivering the inaugural address at the
International Conference on Rule of Law For Supporting the 2030
Development agenda/Sustainable development goals here today, the Prime
Minister said that the ideals of ‘Bahujan hitay, Bahujan sukhay’ (well
being and happiness of the maximum number of people) cannot happen
unless the development process is inclusive and sustainable. He said
that the government aims to encourage education, skill development,
digital connectivity and entrepreneurship in a sustainable manner. He
also said that anything which is not sustainable, cannot be called
development.
The Prime Minister said that poverty is the biggest challenge for
environment and eradication of poverty is one of the fundamental goals
of the government. Shri Modi said that the poor, vulnerable and
marginalized groups have fewer resources to cope with climate disasters.
He underscored the need to look within to make a meaningful impact on
environment. Reiterating the need for Climate Justice, the Prime
Minister stated that rules, laws, practices and principles of one
country cannot be applied to another uniformly. The Prime Minister said
that India’s commitments at COP-21 underline the Indian ethos, which aim
at changing human lifestyle along with changes in the manner in which
economic activity is undertaken.
Addressing the gathering, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Javadekar said that the
Prime Minister convinced the world at Paris about Climate Justice and
sustainable lifestyle. The Minister said that Climate Justice is about
justice to the 3 billion poor people of the world. Shri Javadekar said
that both the concepts of Climate Justice and Sustainable Lifestyle have
been mentioned in the Preamble of Paris agreement.
Shri Javadekar said that the Finance Minister has presented a Green
Budget. Highlighting the green features of the Union Budget 2016-17, he
said that coal has been taxed to the tune of Rs. 400 per tonne, i.e
about $ 6. He emphasized that no country in the world is taxing coal
for $6 per tonne. Shri Javadekar added that if the developed world
follows India’s example in taxing coal at $ 6 per tonne, $ 100 billion
to be generated by the developed world to meet the mitigation and
adaptation needs of the developing world will be collected through this $
6 tax. The Minister said that some of the other green features of the
Budget include the benefit of LPG being extended to 50 million BPL
families, which is not just a health benefit, but also saves cutting of
trees. Shri Javadekar emphasized the commitment of the government by
preponing the migration to Euro VI by 2020, by investing Rs. 60, 000
crore in refineries to have cleaner fuel.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley
pointed out that the proposals presented in Budget 2016-17 pertain not
only to coal and fossil fuels, but also towards hydrocarbons. The
Finance Minister said that two important programmes on environment are
Swachh Bharat and Clean Ganga campaigns. He pointed out that the 0.5%
cess on all services will go only towards Swachh Bharat campaign. He
also added that adequate money for Clean Ganga campaign has been
provided. Shri Jaitley also said that as part of the Clean Ganga
campaign, the most polluted stretch from Kanpur to Varanasi is being
taken up for cleaning River Ganga. The Finance Minister emphasized that
the decision to provide LPG connections to mitigate the adverse impact
of ‘chulha’ is not only a social sector scheme, but also an
environmental programme. He also stated that while hybrid and electric
vehicles have been encouraged, more polluting vehicles have been
discouraged.
The Prime Minister released the National Green Tribunal International Journal on the occasion.
Chief Justice of India, Shri Justice T.S Thakur delivered the keynote
address, while National Green Tribunal Chairperson, Shri Justice
Swatanter Kumar gave the welcome address. Attorney General of India,
Shri Mukul Rohtagi also addressed the gathering. Director, Division of
Environmental Law and Conventions, UNEP, Ms. Elizabeth Maruma Mrema gave
the Vote of thanks.
The three-day Conference has been organized by National Green Tribunal
NGT), Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Ministry of
Water Resources and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The
objective of the Conference is to bring together Chief Justices, judges,
environmentalists, scientists, lawyers, academicians, executives in the
field of environment to exchange ideas on environmental issues such as
climate change and disaster management, threat to marine environment,
waste management and air pollution. Some of the other issues to be
deliberated include – global warming, marine environment, rule of law,
remedies and judicial mechanism, increasing pollution and the impact on
forest, wildlife and environment.
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HK
(Release ID :137368)
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