Modi reaches UK, to attend COP26, meet Johnson

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi is set to take part in the 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) on climate change in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday (1).

Modi arrived in the UK on Sunday (31) for a two-day visit during which he will also hold bilateral talks with British prime minister Boris Johnson. A high-profile segment of COP26, called the World Leaders’ Summit (WLS), will be held on Monday and Tuesday (2). Heads of state/government of more than 120 nations will take part in the event.

COP26, which kicked off on Sunday and will continue till November 12 under the presidency of the UK partnering with Italy, is being called the last chance for Planet Earth to save itself from the devastating consequences of global warming and climate change.

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Modi, who reached the UK from Italy after attending the G20 Summit, tweeted, “Landed in Glasgow. Will be joining the @COP26 Summit, where I look forward to working with other world leaders on mitigating climate change and articulating India's efforts in this regard.”

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“This will be a multilateral event but this will be an opportunity for prime ministers of India and UK to sit together and review the implementation, the progress made on the roadmap 2030 in May 2021,” Gaitri Issar Kumar, the Indian High Commissioner to UK, told Asian News International on Sunday.

“This will be a very important initiative under the solar alliance. And it is important how we would like the international community to view this,” she added.

The idea of ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ (henceforth OSOWOG) made its first appearance on a global platform when the idea was floated by Modi in the first assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Invest India said.

The initiative aims at constructing a trans-national electricity grid that would supply electricity across the globe in a phased manner. The plan of OSOWOG is to move towards achieving a more sustainable source of electricity generation that uses solar power as a source of continuous renewable energy, taking forward the global goal of sustainable development, Invest India added, according to ANI.

Modi will also launch two important initiatives under the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and International Solar Alliance at COP26, Kumar said.

She said that at COP26, Modi will share India’s commitment to the world and his presence will contribute to the success of the crucial climate summit.

“The focus will be on economic revival and how to do this in a sustainable way. For this, climate action is very relevant,” the diplomat said.