India has contributed $1 million for the development of a solar project at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The contribution will help reduce carbon footprint and promote sustainable energy, India’s permanent representative to the UN ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said in a tweet.

1st responder to @antonioguterres call for Climate Action .

India funds solar project @UN Hqrs to reduce carbon footprint & promote sustainable energy. #ClimateAction #solarpower pic.twitter.com/z2Oppsam5l

— Syed Akbaruddin (@AkbaruddinIndia) September 19, 2018

He also added that India is the “first responder” to secretary-general Antonio Guterres’ call for climate action.

On September 17 2018, the secretary general at the UN made a statement on Twitter expressing his condolences for the loss of life and damage to property caused due to hurricanes in South East Asia and the United States. He urged authorities to take action against climate change linked to fossil fuel emissions.

I thank Ambassador @AkbaruddinIndia @IndiaUNNewYork for India’s generous contribution for the installation of solar panels on the roof of the @UN conference building. A strong message promoting #Innovation for action on #climatechange #efficiency pic.twitter.com/SsmTYMgzbU

— Jan Beagle (@JanMBeagle) September 19, 2018

In June, Akbaruddin said during a session on World Environment Day that India intends to partner with the UN Secretariat to use renewable solar energy at the UN premises. He had expressed hope that by the next World Environment Day, solar energy would be part of the energy mix used in the UN building.

In September 2019, Secretary-General António Guterres will convene a Climate Summit hosted by the UN to bring climate action to make climate action a propriety for international agenda and Luis Alfonso de Alba, a former Mexican diplomat, is his special envoy to lead its preparations. The summit will focus on the sectors that create the most emissions and the areas where building resilience could make the biggest difference.

World leaders will report on what they are doing, and what more they intend to do when they convene in 2020 for the UN climate conference, where commitments will be renewed and may be increased.

Previously, on World Environment Day, the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), a state-run power sector financer, announced a $1 million contribution to the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The ISA is an Indian initiative jointly launched by Narendra Modi and the French president in November 2015 in Paris on the sidelines of COP-21, the UN Climate Conference.

Shaurya is a staff reporter at MercomIndia.com with experience working in the Indian solar energy industry for the past four years in various roles. Prior to joining Mercom, Shaurya worked with a renewable energy developer and a consulting company. Shaurya holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Management from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom.