It's my duty to raise the voice of developing nations, says Modi at COP26

Noting that climate change is a "big threat" to the existence of some developing nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that he feels it's his duty to raise the voice of developing countries while addressing the COP26 Global Leaders' Summit here in Glasgow.

Speaking in Hindi at the COP26 Global Leaders' Summit here in Glasgow, PM Modi emphasised that climate change is a "big threat" to the existence of some developing nations and said, "It is my duty to raise the voices of developing nations."

He stressed that the world must make greater efforts to protect the environment. "This is the demand of time and will prove the relevance of this forum," PM Modi added.

"I believe that decisions taken at this forum will secure the future of our coming generations," he said.

Delivering India's National Statement at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, the Prime Minister also said, "We must take major steps to save the world. It is the need of the hour and will prove the relevance of this platform. I'm hopeful that decisions taken in Glasgow will save future of our next generations.

The Prime Minister also proposed "One-Word Movement" at the COP26 Summit.

"I am keeping proposal of One-Word Movement. This One-Word is one word in the context of climate. 'One-word' can become the basic foundation of the world, it can become the resolve. This is a word- LIFE...L, I, F, E, i.e. Lifestyle For Environment," the Prime Minister said.

Addressing COP26 side event on 'Action and Solidarity - The Critical Decade', PM Modi referred to the adverse impact of climate change including change in cropping patterns and the increasing frequency of floods.

"When compared with mitigation, adaptation has received less attention in the global climate debate. The developing countries are facing injustice as they are most affected by climate change," he said.

He also noted that many traditional communities have knowledge of living in harmony with nature.

At COP26, the world leaders are expected to work to achieve the completion of Paris Agreement implementation guidelines, mobilisation of climate finance, actions to strengthen climate adaptation, technology development and transfer and keeping in reach the goals of limiting the rise in global temperatures.

The high-level segment of COP26 is titled the World Leaders' Summit (WLS) and is being attended by heads of state or government of more than 120 countries.