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Time has come for world to say goodbye to single-use plastic: PM Modi at COP 14 address

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Sep 09, 2019, 12:36 PM IST
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Photograph:(ANI)

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'It would make you happy that India has been able to increase its tree cover. Between 2015 to 2017, India’s tree and forest cover has increased by 0.8 million hectares,' PM Modi said.

 

 

India looks forward to making an effective contribution as we take over the Conference of Parties Presidency for a two-year term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on Monday. During his address, PM Modi also urged world to put an end to single-use plastic.

"My government has announced that India will put an end to single-use plastic in the coming years," PM Modi said adding, "I believe the time has come for even the world to say goodbye to single-use plastic."

He also announced to raise "land degradation status, from 21 million hectares to 26 million hectares between now and 2030."

"It would make you happy that India has been able to increase its tree cover. Between 2015 to 2017, India’s tree and forest cover has increased by 0.8 million hectares," PM Modi said.

"I would like to announce that India would raise its ambition of the total area that would be restored from its land degradation status, from 21 million hectares to 26 million hectares between now and 2030," PM Modi said.

This Conference is being held at a time when India has assumed the COP Presidency for two years. 

UNCCD was adopted in Paris on June 17, 1994, and was ratified by 196 countries and the European Union. India ratified the UNCCD Convention in 1996.

The other two Rio Conventions that emerged as a major outcome of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit were the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). 

Last month, during his monthly radio address to the nation, 'Mann Ki Baat', the Prime Minister had pitched for launching a "new mass movement" against single-use plastic from October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. 

He also spoke about the initiative during the Independence Day address, urging people to join the movement.