modi: PM Modi launches “Infrastructure for resilient island states” for the most vulnerable countries

India on Tuesday launched an ambitious initiative to develop infrastructure for small island nations, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying it would give new hope, new confidence and new satisfaction to doing something for the most vulnerable countries facing the biggest threat from climate change. Prime Minister Modi was joined by his British counterpart Boris Johnson on the second day of the COP26 climate summit here. The launch event was also attended by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“The launch of ‘Infrastructure for Resilient Island States’ gives new hope, new confidence,” Modi said, adding that the initiative gives the satisfaction of doing something for the most vulnerable countries.

“The past decades have proven that no one is spared from the wrath of climate change. Whether it is developed countries or countries rich in natural resources, it is a great threat to everyone,” said Modi.

Stating that Small Island Developing States or SIDS face the greatest threat from climate change, Modi said it was a matter of life and death for them, it was a challenge for their existence.

“Disasters caused by climate change can literally take the form of a disaster for them. In these countries, climate change is a major challenge not only for the security of their lives, but also for their economies,” he said. he said, adding that these countries depend on tourism, but due to natural disasters, tourists are also afraid to go there.

Modi said SIDS countries have lived in harmony with nature for centuries and know how to adapt to nature’s natural cycles.

“But due to the selfish behavior of the past decades, the unnatural form of nature has come to the fore, a result that innocent small island states are facing today,” he said.

Modi commended the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) for the initiative, saying for him that the CDRI or

is not just an infrastructure issue, but it is part of a very sensitive human well-being responsibility.

“It is the collective responsibility of all of us to humanity. It is, in a way, a shared atonement for our sins,” he said.

The prime minister said India has made special arrangements for cooperation with the Pacific Islands and Caricom countries following the threat of climate change.

He said that India’s ISRO space agency will build a special data window to provide them with timely information on cyclones, coral reef monitoring, coastal monitoring, etc. by satellite.

Describing the launch of IRIS as “very important”, Modi said that through this initiative, it will be easy for SIDS to mobilize technology and fund needed information faster. “Promoting quality infrastructure in small island states will benefit both the lives and livelihoods there,” he added.

“I assure you that India will fully support this new project and will work closely with CDRI, other partner countries and the United Nations for its success,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, British Prime Minister Johnson said he was “very grateful to my friend, Narendra Modi – the Prime Minister of India, for his leadership on the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. He is at the helm. ‘avant-garde of this subject for a long time. ”

“This is an existential threat as we sit here in Glasgow today. Last year 600 billion ice melted in Greenland. It is unbelievably cruel that these unbelievably small island states are on the front lines. loss and damage caused by global warming, ”he said.

“They have done next to nothing to cause the problem, they have not produced the enormous volumes of CO2 to be pumped into the atmosphere,” Johnson said, urging countries to join this campaign and help.

“We have to stop this relentless rise in CO2 because there are people around this room, there are vulnerable populations who have done nothing to deserve to be on the front lines, suffering catastrophic loss and damage.” , did he declare.

Johnson said the UK is contributing financially to the IRIS initiative. “We too are trampling.”

The Australian Prime Minister thanked India and the United Kingdom for their leadership in the CDRI. “I recognize Quad’s support, including the US and Japanese support for the Indian CDRI,” Morrison said.

The IRIS initiative is part of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure which would focus on capacity building, with pilot projects, especially in small island developing states.

“It would also imply, in a certain sense, the establishment of norms and standards for resilient infrastructure… with the loss of infrastructure due to cyclones, and so on. [IRIS] is an effort to try to equip countries which are particularly vulnerable to these effects of climate change, “Foreign Minister Harsh Vardhan Shringla told reporters on Monday.

The new initiative is the result of cooperation between India, the United Kingdom and Australia and included the participation of the leaders of the small island nations of Fiji, Jamaica and Mauritius.

The Energy, Environment and Water Council of India (CEEW) hailed the launch of IRIS as a recognition of the serious climate risks that can wipe out decades of development, especially for countries and the most vulnerable communities.

“It will need a combination of on-the-ground climate risk assessments, financial innovations to help build resilient infrastructure and the local capacity to manage such facilities,” said Dr Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of CEEW.