COP28: India's environment minister, Commonwealth boss discuss ways to fight climate crisis

Dubai, Nov 30 (IANS) Hours before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Dubai to attend the World Climate Action Summit, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland met with Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav and discussed ways to fight the climate crisis.

Both leaders discussed the Commonwealth Secretariat’s work on climate change, India’s innovative climate solutions and leadership, as well as ways to strengthen their ongoing collaboration.

Speaking after the meeting, the Secretary-General said: “I was really pleased and proud to be able to join hands with my colleague from India, Bhupender Yadav, Union Cabinet Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

“We are discussing how are we going to address this climate crisis. How are we going to use artificial intelligence and geospatial data and all the technological developments to make sure that we reverse the climate disaster that is in our lives right now?

“I really commend India for its dedication, its commitment, and its energy to climate action, but most of all, India’s willingness to share the climate-related technology that we are all going to need in order to reverse the climate crisis in which we now find ourselves.”

The Commonwealth Secretary-General is leading a Commonwealth delegation at the two-week UN Climate Conference (COP28), which started on Thursday, to call for accelerated action on the climate crisis in light of intensifying threats to small and vulnerable member countries.