Narendra Modi launches Infrastructure for Resilient Island States; calls it shared atonement for sins

India on Tuesday launched an ambitious initiative for developing the infrastructure of small island nations, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying it will give a new hope, a new confidence and satisfaction of doing something for the most vulnerable countries facing the biggest threat from climate change.Prime Minister Modi was joined by his British counterpart Boris Johnson on the second day of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. The launch event was also attended by Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres."The launch of 'Infrastructure for Resilient Island States' gives a new hope, a new confidence, Modi said, adding that the initiative gives the satisfaction of doing something for the most vulnerable countries."The last few decades have proved that no one is untouched by the wrath of climate change. Whether they are developed countries or countries rich in natural resources, this is a big threat to everyone, Modi said.The launch event was also attended by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres."Small island developing states are most threatened with climate change. For them, it is a matter of life and death, a challenge to their existence. Calamities due to climate change can become devastating for them. It is not only a challenge for their lives but also for their economy," he added.Modi congratulated the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure CDRI for the initiative and said for him the CDRI or IRIS is not just about infrastructure but it is part of a very sensitive responsibility of human welfare."It is the collective responsibility of all of us towards mankind, he said. It is, in a way, a shared atonement for our sins."Stating that the Small Island Developing States or SIDS face the biggest threat from climate change, Modi said India's space agency ISRO will build a special data window for them to provide them timely information about cyclones, coral-reef monitoring, coast-line monitoring among others through satellite.Speaking on the occasion, British prime minister Johnson said that it's incredibly cruel that vulnerable, small island states are in the frontline of loss and damage that is caused by global warming.Speaking on the occasion, British prime minister Johnson said he was very grateful to my friend, Narendra Modi the Prime Minister of India, for his leadership on the Coalition for Disaster Resilient infrastructure. He has been out in front on this for a long time."This is an existential threat as we sit here in Glasgow today. Last year, 600 billion of ice melted away in Greenland. It's incredibly cruel that these incredibly small island states are right in the frontline of the loss and damage that is caused by global warming, he said."They have done virtually nothing to cause the problem, they didn't produce the huge volumes of CO2 to be pumped into the atmosphere, Johnson said as he urged countries to join this campaign and help."We have got to stop this remorseless increase in CO2 because there are people around this room, there are vulnerable populations who have done nothing to deserve it will be in the frontline, suffering catastrophic loss and damage, he said.Johnson said that the UK is contributing financially to the initiative IRIS. We are stomping up as well."Australian Prime Minister thanked India and the UK for their leadership of the CDRI.  "I acknowledge them the Quad support, including the US and Japan support for India's CDRI," he said.Coalition for Disaster Resilient InfrastructureCDRI was launched as a global partnership to promote resilience in all critical infrastructure anywhere in the world. So far, 25 other countries, including Germany, Italy, Japan, Australia, and the United States have joined this coalition.CDRI is the second international collaboration set up by India in the climate change sphere, the other being the International Solar Alliance that has now evolved to the status of a “treaty-based” intergovernmental organisation.CDRI hopes to become a knowledge-network through which member countries can learn from each other and adopt best practices in the development of climate-resilient infrastructure. It does not itself aim to create infrastructure, or play the role of a funding agency.The IRIS initiative is a part of CDRI that would focus on building capacity, having pilot projects, especially in small island developing states.With input from PTI