PM Modi to participate in World Climate Action Summit and three side events Green credit initiative is based on a program of India’s Ministry of Environment NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra will launch the Green Credit Initiative with the UAE during the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, the Indian government said, as the summit began on Thursday. World political and business leaders from nearly 200 countries are arriving in Dubai this week for the UN’s annual meeting, which aims to address some of the most pressing issues related to global warming and climate crisis. Modi will deliver a speech at the opening session of the World Climate Action Summit and will participate in three high-level side events, two of which are being co-hosted by India. “The first high-level event which is being co-hosted by India and the UAE is the launch of the green credit initiative ... The second side event, co-hosted by India and Sweden, is the launch of Lead IT 2.0,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told reporters in Delhi. The green credit initiative is based on the Green Credit Program, which was notified by the Indian Ministry of Environment in October. It is a market-based mechanism to incentivize voluntary environmental actions by various stakeholders such as individuals, communities, private-sector industries, and companies. The LeadIT 2.0. is “essentially a leadership group for energy transition,” Kwatra said. “This was a joint initiative launched by India and Sweden in 2019 at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York ... This initiative fosters collaboration among the decision-makers, bringing together both the public sector and the private sector with the objective of accelerating the industry transition to net zero emissions.” The Indian prime minister is also scheduled to participate in another high-level event, “Transforming Climate Finance,” which will be hosted by the COP28 presidency, the UAE. During the two-day visit, Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with many of his counterparts on the sidelines of the summit, as India — the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases and a country experiencing the brunt of global warming — seeks to play a leadership role in shaping the international agenda on climate change. “India’s approach to climate action is deeply rooted in our civilization ethos and is reflected foremost in our contributions and our ambitious and effective national policies, especially those which are aimed at economic development, energy, health and nutrition,” Kwarta said. “We have also been pioneering and in the forefront, and taking global initiatives in fighting climate change and its impacts.”