India reaches out to island states at COP26

At COP26, India is focusing on improving its developing country quotient. The focus is on rebuilding and strengthening ties. On Tuesday, the second and final day of the World Leaders Summit segment, India engaged with island states.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched an initiative, Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS), dedicated to addressing and improving the resilience of island states under the umbrella of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

Climate change, noted the Prime Minister, has spared no country. But even here too, “the greatest threat of climate change is to small island developing states. It is a matter of life or death for them; it is a challenge to their existence. Disasters caused by climate change can literally take the form of disaster for them,” he said.

For small island states, the threat of climate change takes serious economic form. Tourism is an important economic activity, but the increasing incidence and intensity of weather phenomena are driving tourists away.

Collective responsibility is another aspect of raising awareness. Emphasizing how small islands have contributed the least to the problem while being the most vulnerable to it, Modi said CDRI or IRIS is not just about infrastructure but about human well-being.

Jamaica to receive $1 million grant from India | page 8

“It is, in a way, a common atonement for our sins,” Modi said. The initiative will make it easier for small islands to mobilize the technology, finance and information needed to promote disaster-resilient infrastructure.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said his “resilience-building efforts will soon be bolstered by a $1 million grant from India for the construction of facilities for sustainable agriculture.”

“It is incredibly cruel that these vulnerable small island states are on the front line of loss and damage from global warming. They have done next to nothing to cause the problem. Every country that has contributed CO2 must help join this campaign,” said COP26 host and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said: “The world is heating up and the impacts are terrifying. And the standards we build must be defined and prepared for these escalating risks. It takes resources to build resilience, but we pay attention now or pay a much higher price as a result of the devastation caused by the climate.”

This awareness is linked to Modi’s call for increased climate finance. On Monday, he focused on the need for developed countries to provide higher levels of finance to help developing countries meet their climate action commitments. India has called for $1 trillion in climate finance, a request echoed by the African group.