It is time for the developed world to “walk the talk” on climate justice: Dr S. Jaishankar

The second UAE edition of the India Global Forum (IGF) opened in Abu Dhabi on December 12 with an insightful Keynote Address by Dr S. Jaishankar, India’s Minister for External Affairs, who set the stage for Day One of the impactful summit by outlining new areas of partnership with the UAE following the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) earlier this year.

During the Climate Finance and Technology Summit, the minister demanded that it was time for the developed world to “walk the talk” on climate justice.

Dr Jaishankar said: “Combating climate change is also about delivering climate justice. We have all along seen that nations which occupy the highest carbon space are reluctant to make good on their promises on assisting developing nations to meet their climate goals. Developed nations need to be sincere about keeping their promises at a time when adverse climate events are becoming more and more common. As more climate emergencies happen, there is a growing concern that developed nations are reluctant to walk the talk on climate justice. Either this is an existential crisis and we put all our resources in mitigating it or it isn’t an existential crisis at all.”

In his Keynote Address to formally kick off IGF UAE 2022, themed around Partners for Global Impact and broadcast live around the world, the senior Indian Cabinet Minister highlighted new areas of UAE-India cooperation such as Education, Artificial Intelligence, Health, and Start-ups in addition to traditional sectors like energy, trade, and investments.

He noted, “The UAE and India share intrinsic and intuitive trust leading to immense comfort in relations between both nations. Today, the UAE is India’s third largest trade partner, second largest export destination and also hosts the largest community of Indian diaspora. As both nations transform, we remain committed to expanding our partnership to other partners. We have a trilateral partnership with France and are also collaborating with Africa on healthcare. We have also established a unique I2U2 mechanism comprising India, Israel, UAE, and the USA. India can play a big role in bridging relations between nations”.

During his conversation with the Indian minister, H.E. Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Diplomatic Advisor to the President of the UAE, he said, “We are the first country with Net Zero results. We are looking forward to COP28 as a stage for taking action. We need to work together and work quickly, especially in assisting developing countries to meet their climate change goals”.

In his welcome address, Professor Manoj Ladwa, Founder and Chairman of India Global Forum, said, “As India Global Forum UAE 2022 – Partners for Global Impact commences, we are guided by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President, UAE and Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi which is centred on a partnership destined for global impact. As we see the emergence of a new global alignment, where the spirit of ambition, and the confidence of trust, meets trade, technology, and talent to convert global challenges into global opportunities, IGF seeks to bring people, businesses, and governments closer. Today, this first global event post India’s ascendence to the presidency of G20, signifies the coming together of like-minded nations to build a better future.”

The Day One of IGF UAE 2022, organised by UK-headquartered India Global Forum, also marked a key announcement of the new Bloomberg-IGF Partnership – an alliance bringing together the best Indian and global innovators, financiers, and entrepreneurs to work on the most cutting-edge solutions to combat climate change.

Michael Bloomberg, Founder, Bloomberg, said in his address, “India Global Forum is doing a great job in bringing together global climate leaders and with Prime Minister Modi taking over the G20 presidency, the world will be looking to India’s public and private sector leaders for bold leadership.

“Together we really can accelerate global progress on climate change, and we can show how cutting emissions and strengthening the economy really do go hand-in-hand.”

Lively discussions around topics such as Innovating, Fuelling and Funding the Future, a Showcase on GreenTech Start-ups and a Townhall on New Ideas in Combating Climate Change were all part of a dynamic opening day of the week-long event. There were also several closed-door Roundtables with industry chiefs and policymakers around crucial sector focus areas such as Climate Finance for Impact and Enabling Energy Transition & Tech Transfer.