Quad recognises urgent need to address climate change; launches ‘Q-CHAMP’

Recognising the urgent need to address climate change, Quad leaders here on Tuesday launched the "Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP)” with "mitigation” and "adaptation” as its two themes.

The announcement on the launch of Q-CHAMP came at the end of the second in-person Quad summit attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.

A joint statement by the four leaders said that they have decided to individually and collectively further strengthen their cooperation to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, which poses especially serious challenges for the Indo-Pacific region.

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“Recognising the urgent need to address climate change as emphasised in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, we will steadfastly implement the Paris Agreement and deliver on the outcomes of COP26,” according to the joint statement.

They also vowed to accelerate their efforts to raise global ambition, including reaching out to key stakeholders in the Indo-Pacific region and supporting, strengthening, and enhancing climate actions by partners in the region including through mobilising climate finance, both public and private, and facilitating the research, development, and deployment of innovative technology.

“Today, we launch the "Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP)” with "mitigation” and "adaptation” as its two themes,” the statement said.

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Q-CHAMP includes ongoing activities under the Quad Climate Working Group on green shipping and ports aiming for a shared green corridor framework building on each Quad country’s input; clean energy cooperation in clean hydrogen and methane emissions from the natural gas sector.

It also includes strengthening clean energy supply chains, welcoming the contribution of the Sydney Energy Forum; climate information services for developing an engagement strategy with Pacific island countries; and disaster risk reduction, including disaster and climate-resilient infrastructure such as the efforts through the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

Its coverage includes new cooperation in clean fuel ammonia, CCUS/Carbon Recycling, cooperation and capacity-building support to advance high integrity carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, climate-smart agriculture, knowledge sharing on subnational climate actions, and ecosystem-based adaptation.

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“To make Q-CHAMP tangible, we are committed to expanding our programmes, in support of climate actions between our four countries as well as in the Indo-Pacific region. We recognise the immense challenges posed by climate change to the island nations of the Pacific,” the leaders said.

“We welcome the new Australian Government’s commitment to stronger action on climate change, including through passing legislation to achieve net-zero by 2050 and lodging a new, ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution,” the joint statement added.

The Quad summit took place under the shadow of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

It also took place at a time when the relations between China and the Quad member countries have become tense, with Beijing increasingly challenging democratic values and resorting to coercive trade practices.

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India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvring in the region.

China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea.

In March last year, President Biden hosted the first-ever summit of the Quad leaders in the virtual format that was followed by an in-person summit in Washington in September. The Quad leaders also held a virtual meeting in March.

Australia will host the next Quad summit in 2023.

In November 2017, India, Japan, the US and Australia gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence, amidst China's growing military presence in the strategic region.