Quad important for free and open Indo-Pacific: Japanese PM Kishida
The four-nation Quad grouping of the US, India, Japan and Australia is playing an important role in promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said here on Friday, urging the like-minded countries to increase their investment in the strategically vital region, amid China's growing assertiveness. Kishida arrived in Singapore on Friday to deliver the keynote speech at Asia's premier defence conclave, the Shangri-La Dialogue. He said the leaders of the Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in their recent meeting in Tokyo in May pledged to spend more than USD 50 billion on infrastructure assistance and investment in the Indo-Pacific over the next five years which will be essential for promoting prosperity in the region. In addition to the ASEAN and Pacific countries, Japan, Australia, India and the United States, also known as QUAD, are playing an important role in promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific, Kishida said. It is also important for like-minded countries to work together to increase the investment in resources in this region, he said, as he called for economic and security cooperation. The Quad leaders launched a major new initiative for the Indo-Pacific in May that allows the partner countries to fully monitor the waters on their shores and help ensure peace and stability in the region, a move that comes amid China's increasingly intimidatory behaviour. The announcement on the rollout of the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) came at the end of the second in-person Quad summit attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.