The Climate Action Summit 2019, slated for third week of September, comes in the backdrop of extreme weather events, the hottest June ever on the Earth, five hottest consecutive years and high intensity rains, writes Priyanka Bhardwaj.

This has prompted the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres to impress on member countries with an agenda for bold actionable plans and higher targets to control climate change rather than usual superfluous discussions, to limit temperature increases to 1.5 degrees and truly green up the environment.

With the Trump administered US moving out of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement India must seize the opportunity to lead the world in initiatives, results, lasting impact, experience and knowledge to harness climate change and contribute to substantial greening of the planet.
To its credit is the target of 175 GW of clean energy by 2022 and rapid strides in renewable energy installations that have surpassed coal plants, for three years in succession, both endorsed by the latest International Energy Agency report.

The burning Amazon jungles in Brazil.

Images of evidentiary value taken from NASA satellites reveal India’s intensive agriculture and multiple replanting of crops that is calculated with China’s efforts have expanded forest cover, making the planet greener by 5 per cent compared to twenty years ago.

Its portfolio reads of Cochin International Airport transforming into the world’s first fully solar-powered airport 2015 and grower of 60 tons of vegetables annually, 28 international firms committing to higher ambitious climate targets, provinces increasing forest cover by 95 million hectares by 2030, Andhra Pradesh becoming the country’s first completely natural farming state by discarding chemicals, and, distribution of more than 35 million LED bulbs translating into major energy savings and CO2 reduction.