ETEN Enlightens-Daily Current Capsules (Prelims Prep. Prominence) 04th December 2018

Environment, Forest and Climate Change COP-24

What

The 24th meeting of Conference of Parties (COP-24) to the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be

held at Katowice, Poland from 2nd December 2018 to 14th December

2018.

COP-24 is very significant as it is expected to finalise guidelines for

implementation of the Paris Agreement adopted in 2016.

India’s delegation

Union Environment Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan will be leading the 17

member Indian delegation

India strongly supports the objective of the Paris Agreement to strengthen

the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global

temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-

industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to

1.5 degrees Celsius.

During the COP-24, India would like to emphasise its concern for climate

change and reaffirm its commitments to finalisation of the Paris

Agreement Work Programme (PAWP).

India would like to ensure that Common but Differentiated

Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC), in the light of

different national circumstances, are operationalised in all elements of the

PAWP.

The issue of pre-2020 commitments under Kyoto Protocol, particularly

higher mitigation action of developed countries and the need for

developed countries to fulfil their climate finance commitments of

mobilising USD 100 billion per annum by 2020, will remain a priority for

India in COP-24.

PAWP must have mechanisms to ensure new, adequate and predictable

support for developing country parties.

India will be looking forward to a rich exchange of views during the

high-level Talanoa dialogue at COP-24, with consideration of pre-2020

actions and support as a crucial element, and its successful conclusion in

2018 as per the agreed modalities.

India will be working together with all Parties in an open, transparent,

inclusive and Party-driven manner to achieve a balanced and

comprehensive outcome in the form of final PAWP at COP-24.

Role of India towards mitigating the adverse effects of climate change

India has undertaken ambitious mitigation and adaptation actions in the

field of clean energy, especially renewable energy, enhancement of

energy efficiency, development of less carbon-intensive and resilient

urban centers, promotion of waste to wealth, safe, smart and sustainable

green transportation network, abatement of pollution and efforts to

enhance carbon sink through creation of forest and tree cover.

The ambitious goal of generating 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022,

and initiatives on smart cities, electric vehicles, energy efficiency

initiatives etc. have now made India one of the global leaders in climate

action.

With the achievement of about 72 GW of renewable energy capacity by

2018 out of a targeted 175 GW, India stands at 4th position globally in

wind power, 6th position in solar power installed capacity, and overall

5th position in renewable power.

India made a voluntary pledge in 2009 to reduce the emission intensity of

its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 20-25 per cent from 2005 levels by

2020 (excluding emissions from agriculture).

The Prime Minister has set an ambitious goal that India must start

generating 40 per cent of its total power from non-fossil fuels by 2030,

thereby placing India at a premium position on the international

renewable energy map.

The United Nations' highest environmental honour, UNEP “Champions

of the Earth” award was conferred on 3rd October 2018 on the Prime

Minister of India in the policy leadership category for his pioneering

work in championing the ISA and for his unprecedented pledge to

eliminate all single-use plastic in India by 2022.

On the sidelines of COP-24, India will be setting up a Pavilion to create

awareness about India’s positive climate actions in various sectors of the

economy.

The theme of this year’s India Pavilion is ‘One World One Sun One Grid’

Social Justice and Empowerment

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

What

The annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons was

proclaimed in 1992, by the United Nations General Assembly resolution

47/3.

Objective

It aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in

all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the

situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social,

economic and cultural life.

Connect to International Day of Disabled Persons

Building on many decades of UN’s work in the field of disability, the

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in 2006,

has further advanced the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities

in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

and other international development frameworks, such as the Sendai

Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Charter on Inclusion of

Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, the New Urban

Agenda, and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for

Development.

Theme

2018 Theme: Empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring

inclusiveness and equality

This year’s theme focuses on empowering persons with disabilities for an

inclusive, equitable and sustainable development as part of the 2030

Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This year, the UN Secretary-General will launch on the Day a flagship

report, entitled “UN Flagship Report on Disability and Development |

2018 – Realizing the SDGs by, for and with persons with disabilities”.

Cultural

Hornbill Festival inaugurated in Kohima

What

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the hugely

popular Hornbill Festival 2018 in Kohima coinciding with the Formation

Day of Nagaland.

Hornbill Festival is a spectacular event showcasing the rich ancient

culture and civilization of the people of Nagaland.

It powerfully demonstrates the cultural diversity and civilizational unity

of the people.

Connect to the festival

The Hornbill Festival is a celebration held every year from 1 - 10

December, in Nagaland, Northeast India. It is also called the 'Festival of

Festivals'.

The state of Nagaland is home to several tribes, which have their own

distinct festivals. More than 60% of the population of Nagaland depends

on agriculture and therefore most of their festivals revolve around

agriculture.

The Nagas consider their festivals sacred, so participation in these

festivals is essential.

To encourage inter-tribal interaction and to promote cultural heritage of

Nagaland, the Government of Nagaland organizes the Hornbill Festival

every year in the first week of December.

The first festival was held in 2000.

The festival is named after the Indian hornbill, the large and colourful

forest bird which is displayed in the folklore of most of the state's tribes.

Defence EX SHINYUU Maitri-2018

What

The Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) is in India for a bilateral

air exercise SHINYUU Maitri-18 with Indian Air Force from 03-07 Dec

18 at A F Station Agra.

The theme of the exercise is joint Mobility/Humanitarian Assistance &

Disaster Relief (HADR) on Transport aircraft.

The JASDF C2 aircraft along with aircrew/observers are part of this first

air exercise between the two Air Forces. IAF is participating with An-32

and C-17 aircraft with aircrew & observers.

The focus of the exercise is set for the IAF and JASDF crews to

undertake Joint Mobility/ HADR operations. Display of heavy loading/

off loading are also planned to be practiced during this exercise.

Agreements Government of India and Asian Development Bank Sign $85 Million

Loan to Support Odisha Skill Development Project

What

The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

signed a $85 million loan to improve the skill development eco-system in

Odisha and establish an advanced skill training center, the World Skill

Center (WSC), in the state capital Bhubaneswar.

Connect to the agreement

The project will improve the quality of the State’s TVET programs by

making them relevant to industry and demand driven, and will impart

advanced occupation-ready skills training aligned with international

standards.

It would also complement the efforts to target the employment needs of

the emerging sectors in India and globally

The project will engage Institute of Technical Education Services

(ITEES), Singapore, to support Odisha Skill Development Authority in

setting-up and operationalizing WSC which would offer internationally

bench marked advanced training programs for the working age

population of Odisha

The project will help over 150,000 people learn skills in priority sectors,

including manufacturing, construction and services for formal

employment.WSC will deliver eight training courses for 13,000 full-time

students, provide training for 5,000 teachers, and train 1,000 assessors.

It will improve the overall eco-system of skill development in Odisha by

providing integrated services through an entrepreneurship incubation

center, a career counseling and placement center, a curriculum design and

development center, and education technology deployment center.

These important functions of WSC will support a network of Government

ITIs and develop skills and capacity of polytechnics, college of

engineering, and other private skilling centers.

ADB will also administer a $2 million technical assistance grant from the

Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, financed by the Government of Japan

that will support capacity development activities under the project

International Organisations

G-20

What

The 2018 G20 Buenos Aires summit, was the thirteenth meeting of Group

of Twenty (G20), which was held on 30 November and 1 December 2018

in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.[1][2] It was the first G20 summit

to be hosted in South America.

Theme

This year, the theme of the summit is 'Building Consensus for Fair and

Sustainable Development',

Connect to the highlights of the summit

PM Modi made the announcement of India hosting G20 summit in 2022

at the closing ceremony in Buenos Aires. It will coincide with India's

75th anniversary of Independence.

Prime minister Narendra Modi made the announcement at the closing

ceremony of the 13th G20 summit in Buenos Aires on December 1, 2018.

He thanked Italy for allowing India to play the host as previously, Italy

was to host the international forum of the world's top 20 economies in

2022.

G20 members comprise Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the

European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan,

Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the

UK, and the US.

The 14th edition of the G20 summit will be held in Japan while Saudi

Arabia will host the 15th.

JAI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump and

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met for their first trilateral meeting

on the sidelines of the G-20 summit to discuss major issues of global and

multilateral interests

The meeting assumed importance in the wake of China flexing its

muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region

The 'JAI' (Japan, America, India) meeting is dedicated to democratic

values...'JAI' stands for victory (in Hindi)." asserted by the Indian P.M

Sources – PIB , The Hindu , livemint