Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan today said that the efforts of experts were necessary to fight climate change but there was also a need for an active involvement of people.
He also lauded the long-standing effort in creating a network of Asian countries on GHG inventory by the Japan government.
For India, action on climate change was a moral and ethical responsibility and India was working under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to achieve its obligations as per Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) principles, he said.
The minister said this after inaugurating the 16th Workshop on Greenhouse Gas Inventories in Asia (WGIA16) here today.
WGIA was an initiative of Government of Japan to improve the quality of Greenhouse Gas Inventories of Asian countries by building capacities through training and exchange of experience.
"While efforts of experts are necessary, there is also a need for an active involvement of people in the fight against climate change. We have committed to achieve 175 GW of installed capacity of renewable energy generation by 2022. We are firmly on path to achieve these targets," he said.
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Other policy initiatives of the government include increasing penetration of LEDs, 5-10 per cent ethanol blending in petrol, increasing efficiency of coal power plants, and more efficient public transport, he said.
The minister said as per the Paris Agreement, there was a need to enhance transparency in reporting, which was possible only through adequate finance and capacity building.
This workshop is a right step in that direction," he added.
The minister underlined that India was concerned about climate change and was committed to global action aimed at mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change.
He outlined Green Good Deeds, Green Good Behaviour, Green Good Practices and Green Social Responsibility being promoted amongst different stakeholders and accepted at various international forums, including BRICS Environment Ministers meeting recently.
Vardhan urged the participants to perform one green good deed every day and become its strong messenger and votary in transforming individual green good deeds into a mass movement in all the participating countries.
Speaking on the occasion, Director General of Forests and Special Secretary, MoEFCC, Siddhanta Das, said India was well poised to meet the target of creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by the year 2030.
Addressing the gathering, Additional Secretary, Environment Ministry, Arun Kumar Mehta, said India enjoyed a strategic relationship with Japan and both countries shared similar views on strengthening capacities for climate action.
Emphasising that WGIA was a well-thought out initiative, Mehta said India as a country believed in transparency and this was apparent from its inventory preparation process, which was inclusive, involving 12 premier national institutions.
He said India had submitted its two National Communications and first Biennial Update Report (BUR) in time and BUR-2 would also be submitted in time.
He said that India was on track to meet its Copenhagen commitment of reduction in emissions intensity of GDP by 20-25 per cent by 2020 with reference to 2005 level.
Charge d'ffaires ad interim, Embassy of Japan in India, Hideki Asari said India had emerged as a leading voice in the field of environment, especially after the announcement to achieve 175 GW renewable energy capacity by 2022, setting up and coordinating International Solar Alliance, hosting of World Environment Day 2018 and a number of similar initiatives.
The four-day workshop was organised by the Environment Ministry of Japan and was being hosted by the Indian Ministry of Environment from July 10-13 here.