India Signs Up To COP26 Action Agenda On Sustainable Agriculture At Climate Summit

London: India is among 27 countries to sign up to a sustainable agriculture action agenda at the conclusion of the first week of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, laying out new commitments to make farming more sustainable and less polluting. The ‘Sustainable Agriculture Policy Action Agenda for the Transition to Sustainable Agriculture and Global Action Agenda for Innovation in Agriculture’ was among the highlight action pledges to be clinched by the participating countries at the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on Saturday (November 6).

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The countries laid out new commitments to change their agricultural policies to become more sustainable and less polluting, and to invest in the science needed for sustainable agriculture and for protecting food supplies against climate change.

If we are to limit global warming and keep the goal of 1.5 degree Celsius alive, then the world needs to use land sustainably and put protection and restoration of nature at the heart of all we do”, said Alok Sharma, the Indian-origin UK Cabinet minister, in his role as the President of COP26. The commitments being made today show that nature and land use is being recognised as essential to meeting the Paris Agreement goals, and will contribute to addressing the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Meanwhile, as we look ahead to negotiations in week two of COP, I urge all parties to come to the table with the constructive compromises and ambitions needed , he said.

Others besides India to sign up to the action plan include Australia, Uganda, Madagascar, Tanzania, Vietnam, Nigeria, Lesotho, Laos, Indonesia, Guinea, Ghana, Germany, Philippines, Ethiopia, UK, Colombia, Costa Rica, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Spain, Switzerland and the UAE. The announcement follows Ocean Action Day on Friday of over 10 new countries signing up to the “30by30” target to protect 30 per cent of the world’s ocean by 2030. These include India, Bahrain, Jamaica, St Lucia, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, India, Qatar, Samoa, Tonga, Gambia and Georgia, with the target now supported by over 100 countries.

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Among other developments from week one of the COP26 climate summit, the World Bank will commit to spending USD 25 billion in climate finance annually to 2025 through its Climate Action Plan, including a focus on agriculture and food systems. The conclusion of the first week, which opened with the World Leaders’ Summit attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was marked by a massive protest march by environmental activists in Glasgow on Saturday.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg joined thousands at the “Global Day of Action for Climate Justice” march, the biggest so far during the COP26 summit which took place alongside hundreds of similar events around the world. After a brief break on Sunday, the climate talks will resume on Monday and conclude at the end of the summit next Friday.

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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity,  that is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.