Latest IPCC report clarion call for effective science-based responses to climate change: BRICS

India and the other four BRICS countries on Friday asserted that the latest IPCC report which has warned of severe irreversible climate impacts is a clarion call for rapid, sustained and effective science-based responses to climate change.

The view was shared at the seventh meeting of the BRICS Environment Ministerial 2021, which was chaired by India.

Under the New Delhi Statement, adopted by the BRICS nations -- India, Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa -- the countries stressed on the need for taking concrete collective global actions against global environment and climate challenge, guided by equity, national priorities and circumstances, and the principles of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities.

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“We reaffirmed our commitment to the principles of Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, including the Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC). We acknowledge the importance of achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Goals (SDGs) and reiterate our commitment to the achievement of all SDGs, especially SDG 12, 13, 14 and 15, as vital elements of climate action and biodiversity conservation.

“We agree to cooperate closely in the run up to the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP26) in UK and the 15th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15) in China,” the countries said in the adopted New Delhi Statement.

“We took note of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 1 contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report and noted that it is a clarion call for rapid, sustained and effective science-based responses to climate change,” it said.

The BRICS countries participated in the 7th BRICS Environment Ministers Meeting 2021 virtually under the chairmanship of India to exchange views on the global environmental and climate challenges and how the nations can address these challenges in the light of COVID-19 pandemic.

The countries called for a balanced and comprehensive implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement, in accordance with its goals and principles, as well as the progressive and nationally determined nature of contributions to the Paris Agreement.

“We underscored the need to honour the commitments made by developed countries in the pre-2020 period even as we have moved into the post-2020 era, including the yearly USD 100 billion goal for climate finance. We noted with grave concern the proposals for introducing trade barriers such as unilateral carbon border adjustment, that are discriminatory,” they said in the joint statement.

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In the statement, the nations stressed on the need to ensure a holistic approach to climate change, focused on all dimensions, including mitigation, adaptation, financing and technology transfer and capacity building, and to promote harmonious coexistence between human and nature.

The BRICS countries also called upon the developed countries to fulfil their obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

They also welcomed India's initiative of BRICS Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy Dialogue (BRICS RE & CE Dialogue) and appreciated its potential role in facilitating exchange of knowledge and best practices on waste management, resource efficiency and circular economy.

The nations also addressed the issue of air pollution and marine litter and said that they would share with each other the technical expertise on water pollution.

“We recognised the importance of abatement and control of air and water pollution. We agreed to share with each other our technical expertise on water pollution as well as conservation and management of water resources and rivers through joint projects, such as the BRICS Clean Rivers Programme as well as the proposal for the establishment of a network of our regulatory and technical institutions,” the statement said.

The nations said that they recognised the need for addressing marine plastic litter, which is recognised as a global challenge, and they will endeavour to take steps for reducing land-based sources of plastic waste entering the marine ecosystems through surface bodies such as rivers.

“In this regard, the Clean Rivers Programme of BRICS for combating marine plastic litter is relevant. We also recalled the resolution on addressing single-use plastic products pollution adopted by the fourth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in 2019, piloted by India, which encourages voluntary action on single-use plastic product pollution, including promoting the development of environmentally friendly alternatives to single-use plastic,” it said.

Noting that over the recent decades, forest fires have become one of the major drivers of damage to forests causing not only loss of biodiversity and wildlife habitat, but also adversely impacting the livelihoods of people dependent on forests, the BRICS nations agreed to explore the use of advanced technologies in the areas of forest fire monitoring, burnt area assessment, fire danger rating system, early-warning systems and assessment of ecological losses that can help in combating forest fires.