G7 Summit: India only G-20 country on track to meet its Paris commitments, says PM Modi

On the second day of the G7 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in two sessions titled ‘Building Back Together—Open Societies and Economies’ and ‘Building Back Greener: Climate and Nature’. PM Modi pointed out the significance of democracy and freedom and India's efforts to meet the Paris commitment, respectively, informed the Ministry of External Affairs. 

PM Modi highlighted 'India's civilization ethos' which is based on democracy and freedom. 

"PM recalled that democracy and freedom were a part of India’s civilizations ethos. He shared the concern expressed by several Leaders that open societies are particularly vulnerable to disinformation and cyber-attacks, and stressed the need to ensure that cyberspace remains an avenue for advancing democratic values and not of subverting it," added Ministry of External Affairs. 

The Prime Minister further added that the best commitment towards 'Open Societies' is ' reform of the multilateral system'. The session concluded with leaders adopting the ‘Open Societies Statement’. 

PM Modi on Climate Change at G7 Summit

Marking India as the only country to be on track to meet its Paris Commitments, PM Modi asserted, 'planet's atmosphere, biodiversity, and oceans can not be protected by countries acting in silos, and called for collective action on climate change'. He further talked about the Indian Railways approach of achieving Net Zero Emissions by 2030. 

Pointing out India's effective initiatives- CDRI and the International Solar Alliance, PM Modi stressed on assistance that developing countries require.

"Developing countries need better access to climate finance, and called for a holistic approach towards climate change that covers all dimensions of the problem- mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer, climate financing, equity, climate justice and lifestyle change," added press release issued by MEA. 

Invited to speak as a leader speaker, the Prime Minister ended his speech with a message of 'global solidarity and unity, especially between open and democratic societies and economies, in tackling the global challenges of health, climate change'. 

India at G7 Summit

Due to the prevailing condition of COVID-19 in India, PM Modi addressed the G7 summit virtually and it was joined by the Group of Seven (G7) including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States on Friday, June 11. British PM Boris Johnson also expressed regrets as PM Narendra Modi could not attend the meeting in person, informed MEA Additional Secretary P Harish.