PM Modi Proposes "Green GDP" Concept in Climate Action Discussion with Bill Gates

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed creating the idea of a "green gross domestic product" and said that metrics used to gauge growth were harmful to the environment.

During an informal discussion with Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, he said that there has been a surge in climate action since the September G20 Summit in India.

The prime minister said that the world has to embrace a two-pronged strategy: first, nature- and climate-friendly technologies; and second, ecologically friendly lifestyles, in response to Gates' question on how the green approach might be made more inexpensive for easier adoption.

"Our current challenge is how we perceive progress," said the prime minister. For instance, the amount of steel and energy used in a nation are often used to measure its level of development. These standards are used to compute the nation's economy." "If we stick to these guidelines, we'll use more steel and power, which will raise our carbon emissions. This implies that we must adopt a new perspective. Climate-friendly lifestyle decisions and progress measurements are required. All of our current progress metrics are bad for the environment, according to Modi.

He recommended that the idea of a "Green GDP," which would be added to the gross domestic product as a whole, be adopted globally.

"We need to change the global terminology," remarked Modi.

The prime minister pointed out that Gates and he had very similar views on climate change.

The philanthropist commended the prime minister's "Mission Innovation" at the 2015 Paris climate conference.

As Prime Minister Modi has put it, "Mission Innovation" is working with the European Commission (speaking for the EU) and 23 other nations to accelerate the renewable energy revolution and get closer to the Paris Agreement's objectives and net zero paths. "Mission Innovation" counts India among its founding members.

The prime minister remembered that during that period, Gates, the then-US and French presidents, and he had thoroughly reviewed their plan; sadly, their efforts did not result in any notable advancements.

But since the G20, an environment has emerged in which everyone is committed to carrying out their climate-related duties. The groundwork we established, of which your participation was crucial... Like a banyan tree, I have hope that these efforts will bear fruit, Modi said.