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India to join France in starting initiative against single-use plastics: PM Modi
The One Ocean Summit is being held as part of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union.
India will back France in launching a global initiative against single use plastics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday while addressing the One Ocean Summit.
Modi congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron for organising the three-day event at Brest in France, describing it in his virtual address as an “important global initiative for oceans”.
Noting that India recently undertook a nationwide awareness campaign to clean plastic and other waste from coastal areas, he said: “India will be happy to join France in launching a global initiative on single use plastics.”
He said 300,000 young people had collected almost 13 tonnes of plastic waste during the drive launched by India. “I have also directed our navy to contribute100 ship-days this year to cleaning plastic waste from the seas,” he added.
Modi pointed out that India has “always been a maritime civilisation”, and the country’s ancient scriptures and literature talk about the gifts of the oceans, including marine life. “Today, our security and prosperity are linked to oceans,” he said.
India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative contains marine resources as a key pillar, and the country supports the French initiative of a “High Ambition Coalition on Bio-diversity Beyond National Jurisdiction”, he said.
“We hope for a legally binding international treaty this year. India is committed to eliminating single-use plastic,” he added.
The One Ocean Summit, organised by France in cooperation with the United Nations and the World Bank, aims to mobilise the world community to take tangible action to preserve and support sustainable ocean ecosystems.
Macron is hoping to get “ambitious commitments” from a group of more than 40 countries, business leaders and multinational companies during the One Ocean Summit. Several initiatives will be launched during the summit on marine ecosystems, sustainable fisheries, pollution, in particular from plastics, climate change, and improved governance of the oceans.
The One Ocean Summit is being held as part of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Source : Hindustan Times
