1. Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav represented India in the ‘8th World Green Economy Summit’ held in Dubai
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Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav attended the Ministerial Roundtable for the Green Economy at the 8th World Green Economy Summit (WEGS) held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 28 September 2022.
WGES is organised by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO), and the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy.
The theme of the 8th World Green Economy Summit: ‘Climate Action Leadership through Collaboration: The Roadmap to Net-Zero’.
The World Green Economy summit announced the launch of the ‘Global Alliance on Green Economy’.
The ‘Global Alliance on Green Economy’ aims to build a coalition of countries, prioritising a green economy in the context of climate action and sustainable development, to enhance the capacity of developing countries, provide support for their green economy transition projects and exchange knowledge on implementation.
2. 13th FICCI Global Skills Summit 2022 inaugurated by Dharmendra Pradhan
Tags: place in news Economy/Finance Summits Economics/Business Person in news
Union Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the 13th FICCI Global Skills Summit 2022 in New Delhi on 27 September 2022.
The two-day (27-28 September) Summit has been organised by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Skills.
Theme of the 13th FICCI Global Skills Summit 2022: “Education to Employability - Making It Happen.”
Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
It is a business lobby group of top business houses in India which was founded by Ghanshyam Das Birla.
It was set up in 1927
It articulates the views and concerns of industry and tries to influence the government to make policy which is in favour of the industry and business.
Headquarters: New Delhi
President: Sanjiv Mehta
3. National conference on alternative to single use plastic held in Chennai
Tags: place in news National Summits
To promote an environment friendly alternative to the now banned single use plastic in the country, an National Expo on alternatives to banned single use plastics items and Conference of Startups -2022 was inaugurated in Chennai , Tamilnadu on 26 September 2022.
The conference has been jointly organized by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, and Government of Tamil Nadu.
The government of India banned single use plastics from 1 July 2022.
The conference is an attempt to encourage the Startups to innovate and develop an environment friendly alternatives like items made from natural fibers such as coir, bagasse, rice and wheat bran, plant and agricultural residue, banana and areca leaves, jute and cloth.
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change: Bhupendra Yadav
4. India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant chairs inter-ministerial meeting to review G20 preparations
Tags: Summits Person in news
India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on 24 September 2022 chaired an inter-ministerial meeting with the chairpersons of all Working Groups under India’s upcoming G20 Presidency and discussed substantive and logistical aspects of the preparations for it.
This year, the G20 Summit will be hosted by Indonesia in Bali in the month of November. India will assume the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022, to 30 November 2023.
G 20 Sherpa and its work
The Government of India appointed former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant as the Sherpa of G-20 in July this year. He will be responsible for conducting and coordinating the Sherpa track meetings of the forthcoming G-20 Summit to be hosted by India.
With the G-20 presidency coming to India in November 2022, India will set the agenda of G-20 for the year, identify the themes and focus areas, conduct discussions and work out outcome documents. To prepare for this the G20 process has been divided into the Sherpa track and the Finance track.
Sherpa Track
Under the Sherpa track, about 100 official meetings are expected to be organized in the areas of employment, health, digital economy, trade, investment & industry, environment & climate, energy, anti-corruption, agriculture, tourism, culture, and socio-economic development, education, and women empowerment.
Finance Track
Under the Finance track, about 40 meetings are expected to be organized including those in the areas of international financial architecture, financial inclusion and sustainable finance, financing for infrastructure, climate finance and tax matters.
G-20 is a group of 19 countries and the European Union.
5. Piyush Goel attends G 20 ministers WTO Dispute Settlement reforms meeting in Bali
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The Indian Commerce minister Piyush Goel in a tweet said that he participated in a discussion on WTO’s Dispute Settlement Reform that was convened by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial meeting in Bali, Indonesia on 21 September 2022.
The 12th World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference held in Geneva, Switzerland from 12-17 June 2022, had promised to revive the dispute settlement body in the next two years.
WTO Dispute Settlement System
WTO is a global body which was set up in 1995 to promote rule based trading systems in the world and it also settles trade related disputes between the member countries.
A member country can complain against another member country to the WTO if it believes that the country is not following WTO rules regarding trade.
The Dispute Settlement Mechanism is a two tier process in the WTO.
First, the member countries are encouraged to settle their dispute through consultation.
If this fails then the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body appoints a panel to look into the dispute.
The countries have the right to appeal against the ruling of the panel to an Appellate Body set up by the Dispute Settlement Body. The ruling of the Appellate body is binding on the countries of WTO.
Objection of the United States to the Dispute Settlement System
The United States government has blocked the appointment of members to the Appellate Body since 2019. The Appellate body structure is at present not working but the panel system is still functioning.
The United States wants to abolish the Appellate system of the WTO as it believes that it has become synonymous with litigation and has become prolonged, complicated and expensive.
However the developing countries are of the view that a two tier dispute settlement system is essential for the functioning of the WTO dispute settlement system.
World Trade Organisation (WTO)
- It was set up on 1st January 1995 replacing the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT).
- Its main purpose is to promote rule based trading systems in the world and it also settles trade related disputes between the member countries.
- The headquarters of WTO is in Geneva, Switzerland.
- There are 164 member countries.
- Director General of WTO : Dr Ngozi -Okonjo-Iweala of of Nigeria
- Report released by WTO : World Trade Report
6. First India-Australia-Indonesia foreign minister’s trilateral meeting held in New York
Tags: place in news Summits Person in news International News
External Affairs Minister S.Jaishanker held the first trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of India, Indonesia and Australia in New York on 23 September 2022.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- In a tweet the minister said that he discussed the maritime issue, blue water economy with the Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi and the Australian foreign minister Penny Wong and emphasized the centrality of ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific region.
- World leaders are in New York to participate in the High Level Week at the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
7. Foreign Minister Jaishankar attends high level L-69 group meeting in New York
Tags: place in news Summits International News
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar attended the High Level Meeting of the L.69 Group on "Reinvigorating Multilateralism and Achieving Comprehensive Reform of the UN Security Council” in New York, United States of America on 23 September 2022.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- The L.69 Group consists of developing countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America, Caribbean and Small Island Developing States, focused on reforms of the UN Security Council.
- Dr S. Jaishankar is on an official visit to the United States from 18-28 September 2022. He is leading the India delegation for the High Level Week at the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
8. First ‘Global Clean Energy Action Forum -2022’ starts at Pittsburgh, United States
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The three day (21-23 September) ‘Global Clean Energy Action Forum -2022 organised by the United States government’s Department of Energy and Carnegie Mellon University, started on 21 September 2022 at Pittsburgh, United States .
Under the Global Clean Energy Action Forum a joint meeting of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM13) and Mission Innovation (MI-7) are being held.
It is being attended by energy and science ministers from 31 countries to discuss ways to achieve a net zero carbon target for the world.
India is being led by Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh.
He met US Energy Minister Jennifer Granholm and other important dignitaries.
The theme for CEM13/MI-7 is Rapid Innovation and Deployment.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Pittsburgh is also known both as "the Steel City" and as the "City of Bridges".
- Jamshedpur in India is also called as Pittsburgh of India.
9. 10th IBSA Trilateral Ministerial Commission meeting held in New York
Tags: International Relations Summits International News
The 10th India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA) Trilateral Ministerial Commission meeting was held in New York on 21 September.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- The meeting was chaired by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil Carlos Alberto Franco França and Minister of Health of South Africa Dr Joe Phaahla were also present during the meeting.
The Ministers reviewed the entire gamut of IBSA cooperation.
The aspirations of African countries to have a permanent presence on the UN Security Council were endorsed by the ministers.
They also supported the efforts of India and Brazil to obtain permanent membership in the Security Council.
India will host the sixth IBSA summit on the sidelines of the G20 summit in November this year.
Agenda of the meeting :
The agenda of the meeting was on mutual interests including cooperation in multilateral organizations, South-South cooperation, UNSC reform, 2030 agenda, Sustainable Development Goals, climate change, countering terrorism, and financing for developmental activities.
They held discussions on regional issues like the African Union, the Middle East peace process, and the situation in Ukraine.
About IBSA Trilateral Ministerial Commission :
It is a trilateral, developmental initiative between India, Brazil and South Africa to promote South-South cooperation and exchange.
This grouping was formally renamed the IBSA Dialogue Forum when the foreign ministers of the three countries met in Brasilia (Brazil) on 6 June 2003 and issued the Brasilia Declaration.
10. National Conference of Environment Ministers to be held in Gujarat
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The two day (23-24 September) National Conference of Environment Ministers will be held in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat.
The conference will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23 September 2022 virtually.
The two-day conference is being held to create a synergy among the central and state governments in formulating better policies on issues such as the elimination of plastic pollution through a multi-pronged approach.
It will also focus on increasing the forest cover with special emphasis on restoration of degraded land and wildlife conservation.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Theme of the conference :
- The conference will have six thematic sessions with topics focusing on LiFE, Combating Climate Change (Updating State Action Plans on Climate Change for Mitigation of Emissions and Adaptation to Climate Impacts) ; PARIVESH (Single Window System for Integrated Green Clearances) ; Forestry Management ; Prevention and Control of Pollution; Wildlife Management ; Plastics and Waste Management.
