Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said small island developing states faced the biggest threat from climate change and the launch of an initiative, titled Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS), gave new hope, confidence and satisfaction of doing something for the most vulnerable countries in the world.
The initiative was jointly launched by Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson at the 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.
The Prime Minister said, “Small island developing states were most threatened with climate change. For them, it is a matter of life and death, a challenge to their existence. Calamities due to climate change can become a devastation for them. It is not only a challenge for their lives but also for their economy.”
Stating that the past few decades have proven that nobody remains untouched by effects of climate change, Modi said be it developed nations or nations that are rich in natural resources, it was a huge threat for all.
The PM further said India made special arrangements for Pacific Islands and CARICOM (Caribbean Community) countries in anticipation of the threats coming from climate change.
“We trained their citizens in solar technologies and made continuous contributions for development. India’s space agency ISRO will build a special data window for SIDS (small island developing states). With this, SIDS will continue to get timely information about cyclones, coral-reef monitoring, coast-line monitoring etc. through satellite,” he added.