First meeting of DWG under India’s G20 Presidency concludes; focuses on collective action on climate change

The first meeting of the Development Working Group under India’s G20 Presidency concluded in Mumbai yesterday. The final day’s deliberations focussed on harnessing data for development and collective action on climate change.

Initiating discussions, India’s DWG co-chairs Joint Secretaries Nagaraj Naidu and Eenam Gambhir contextualized the need to galvanize global efforts to effectively accelerate efforts to attain the goals of the 2030 Agenda. Detailed presentations were given by Additional Director of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Kshitij Kushagra, and UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Technology Ambassador Amandeep Singh Gill. The representatives discussed the need for quality data, related trust issues, steps needed to bridge the digital divide, capacity building in developing nations, and aligning the work of the DWG with that of the Digital Economy Working Group.

During the session on climate change, the DWG Co-Chair Ms. Gambhir emphasized that India’s G20 Presidency holds action on climate change as its central priority. She added that reimagining consumption needs and creation of ecosystems to support sustainable development is the need of the hour. She said that Lifestyle for Environment – LiFE is a bold, transformative approach to sustainable living that proposes global shifts in both consumption (demand) and production (supply) pattern.

In her presentation, Ms. Divya Datt from United Nations Environment Programme, explained the economic and policy frameworks that can enable the adoption of LiFE. With a data-driven perspective, Ms. Datt stated the importance of making sustainable lifestyle aspirational within the context of circular economies and cross-cutting policy shifts.

The delegates will be visiting Kanheri Caves today in Sanjay Gandhi National Park to experience Mumbai’s cultural and green oasis in the midst of a fast-growing urban metropolis.