U.N. chief lauds Modi for climate action

Prime Minister of India  Narendra Modi was conferred the Champions of the Earth Award by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio. “In PM Narendra Modi, we have a leader who realises the issue of climate change and understands the benefits of climate action. He knows the problems and also works to solve them,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the presentation.

“It is a proud moment for India,” said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who was also present at the function.

Narendra Modi, while accepting the award, said the “honour is the result of the commitment that the people of India have towards the environment.”

Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron were among others conferred the Champions of the Earth Awards, the UN’s “highest environmental honour.” Mr. Modi is the third Indian after Tulsi Tanti, the Chairman of the Suzlon Group, and Afroz Alam, a lawyer who led the clean-up at Mumbai’s Versova beach, to be given the award. However, they have all been awarded for different categories.

Modi and Mr. Macron’s prizes were announced last week, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, in the ‘Policy Leadership category’ for their “pioneering work in championing the International Solar Alliance and promoting new areas of cooperation on environmental action, including Macron’s work on the Global Pact for the Environment and Modi’s unprecedented pledge to eliminate single-use plastic in India by 2022.”