New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh on Monday said India is committed to reducing carbon emissions over the Antarctic atmosphere.
Virtually addressing an international conference on Monday, he said India had adopted the green energy initiative in a big way by experimenting with the feasibility of wind energy production and has installed moderate output of Wind Energy Generators (WEG) on an experimental basis.
The choice of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) for Bharati Station to reduce carbon emissions in the Antarctic also promotes India’s pledge to protect the environment.
About curtailing carbon emissions, Dr. Singh said India is looking forward to contributing to the Climate Change Response Work Programme of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP). Climatically induced carbon dioxide (CO2) by the Arctic and Antarctic oceans causes acidification, gradually affecting fisheries, and propels disastrous biome shifts. It is the challenge for the next 30 years, he said.
“We commit India to the comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment and associated ecosystems. India also reaffirms its commitment to the Protocol on the Antarctic Treaty,” he added.
The Protocol recognizes Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted to peace and science. It was signed in Madrid on October 4, 1991, and came into effect in 1998. India had signed the treaty on August 19, 1983, and is a Consultative treaty member, and a member of the Council of Managers of the National Antarctic Programme and the Scientific Committee of Antarctica Research.
The virtual international conference commemorated the signing of the Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty and was attended by the Prime Minister of the host nation, Spain, Pedro Sanchez, and his counterparts Scott Morrison (Australia), and Jacinda Ardern (New Zealand), delegates and ministers of the signatory nations.
(Avya Mathur)