NEW DELHI: India on Thursday officially joined the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, a group of more than 70 countries encouraging the adoption of the global goal to protect at least 30 per cent of the world's land and ocean by 2030.
India is the first of the BRICS bloc of major emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to join the HAC, the Union Environment Ministry said in a statement.
India's announcement comes in the lead up to a high-level biodiversity meeting in China from October 11 to 15.
Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, handed over the signed HAC agreement to Ambassador of France to India Emmanuel Lenain in a ceremony on Thursday.
Gupta said resource mobilization will always be the cornerstone for the implementation of policies and programmes for conserving biodiversity and India would ensure all support in meeting the global biodiversity targets.
Lenain said India joining the High Ambition Coalition is a "real game-changer and will boost our multilateral efforts".