Climate change is not an issue confined to those who are seen as emitters, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) Leena Nandan said during a panel discussion at the India Pavilion at COP 27.
This discussion session was hosted by the Department of Science and Technology on the topic “Technology Needs Assessment for Sustainable Life” to identify the technological needs and their assessment for their adoption for the sustainable well-being of global citizens. “What India and the world need today is technology. Climate change is not an issue confined to those who are seen as emitters. There is now a realisation and a larger and uniform understanding that climate change cannot be wished away. It is knocking at our door,” MoEFCC Secretary Leena Nandan said on Thursday.
She further emphasised that climate change has led to devastation in the form of several nature-based occurrences, and our lifestyles need to change as a response to the challenges faced today.
In her address, she also stated that the discussions must focus on bridging the gap between what we want to achieve and how to achieve it, as well as the process of applying science and knowledge to our activities.
“All the Rs—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Restore, and Refurbish—need the T of technology,” Nandan said while talking about the circular economy.
Urging the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to engage with state governments for innovative solutions, the Secretary of MoEFCC reiterated the need to work through silos and stated that technology cannot remain confined to “big players” due to their access to finance. MSMEs and startups need to be enabled to access finance to use technology optimally, she said.
“We need to add our bits to the larger picture; only then, as a country, could we say that we have taken decisive steps to tackle climate change,” Nandan added.
