BENGALURU: Land degradation, loss of biodiversity, lack of waste absorption and issues associated with resource extraction and others are the key issues that will be discussed at the first Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) meeting as part of the G20 summit that will be held in Bengaluru from February 9-11.
It will discuss the most pressing issues of global environment and climate change and come out with a participatory approach to address the same, Richa Sharma, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change told reporters here on Wednesday.
G20 countries account for more than 85% of the global GDP but they are also responsible for 80% of annual greenhouse gas emissions, she said. The meeting is expected to evolve a consensus and policy coordination on the steps to be taken to tackle this, said Richa.
The ability of the Earth to sustain itself would be impacted if the resource extraction is done unabatedly without utilizing end-of-life material, she said. “Ocean warming, sea-level rise and ocean acidification threaten half of the global GDP of 44 trillion Dollars. Issues of biodiversity loss and how to conserve them will be a big part of the discussions,” she said.
“The issue of sustainable lifestyle for the environment and climate change will be the cross-cutting themes. We do not look at land degradation, climate change and biodiversity conservation in silos and that is why different ministries will be brought under one platform to discuss and address issues,” she said. ECSWG is one of the 13 working groups under the Sherpa track and will meet four times between February and May.