Principal Secretary to Prime Minister addresses Third Meeting of G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group

Newdelhi:24/7/23:The Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Shri Pramod Kumar Mishra addressed the Third Meeting of the G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group in Chennai today.

The Principal Secretary to Prime Minister recalled meeting for the first time in Gandhinagar in March this year and pointed out the unprecedented climate change-related disasters that have taken place since then. He gave examples of massive heat waves gripping the entire northern hemisphere, forest fires in Canada and the haze that followed which affected cities in various parts of North America, and major cyclonic activities on the east and west coasts of India. The Principal Secretary also touched upon Delhi experiencing its worst flood in 45 years.

The Principal Secretary emphasized that the impacts of climate change-related disasters are enormous and interconnected in nature and are already knocking on our doors. Noting the challenges faced by the world and the impact of climate change affecting everyone across the planet, the Principal Secretary underlined the importance of the G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group. Although the group has made a lot of progress and generated good momentum, the Principal Secretary stressed matching the ambitions with the scale of problems faced by the world. He underlined that the time for incremental change has now passed and the stage is set for the transformation of local, national and global systems for preventing the creation of new disaster risks and effectively managing the existing ones.

During the last eight months of India’s G20 Presidency, the Principal Secretary said that the whole nation has participated very enthusiastically and 177 meetings have been held in 56 locations across the country so far. He highlighted the active participation of delegates in the deliberations along with getting a glimpse of India’s social, cultural and natural variety. “Much progress has been made in the substantive aspects of the G20 agenda. I am sure the Summit Meeting which will be held in one and a half months’ time will be a landmark event. The contribution of all of you to this outcome will be significant”, the Principal Secretary concluded.

Ms Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General; Shri Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa; Members of G20 as well as guest countries; Officials from International Organisations; Shri Kamal Kishore, Chair of the Working Group; Officials from National Disaster Management Authority, National Disaster Management Institute, and Ministry of Home Affairs were among those present on the occasion.