The 5-day UN Ocean Conference began today, with Kenya and Portugal serving as co-hosts. Over 130 world leaders will meet for five days to reach an international agreement on protecting the world's oceans, seas, and marine resources.
Meanwhile, on the first day of the five-day conference, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, who is leading the Indian delegation, held bilateral talks with a number of Ministers from various countries. Other members of the Indian delegation joined the Minister at some of these meetings.
Dr. Jitendra Singh is scheduled to present India's statement to the UN General Assembly tomorrow. Other members of the Indian delegation will be present from the Ministries of External Affairs, Earth Sciences and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and so on.
The Ocean Conference takes place at a critical juncture in the world's efforts to address many of the challenges that will necessitate structural transformations as well as innovative and green solutions in order to achieve SDG Goal 14, which calls for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas, and marine resources.
The UN has repeatedly stated that the world's oceans are under severe threat as a result of human activities, and that the situation is likely to worsen as the world population grows and human activities increase.
Dr. Jitendra Singh told the media that India has already taken a significant lead in green technology, and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2030 goal is to reduce India's emissions by 45 percent by adding 500 gigatonnes of renewable energy generators to the country's power grid, thereby reducing nearly one billion tonnes of CO2 emissions.
The Minister also stated that India recently launched a nationwide awareness campaign to clean up plastic waste and other waste from coastal areas, which will soon become a Jan Andolan.
Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, India has undertaken a number of initiatives, programmes, and policy interventions to protect marine and coastal ecosystems, mangroves, and coral reefs.
