The 3rd ECSWG (environment and climate sustainability working group) meeting is being held during May 21-23. The meeting is being kicked off with a G20 Mega Beach Clean-Up on Sunday in Mumbai at Juhu Beach from 7 AM for two hours. The main focus of this meeting will be on steering the discussions around Communique with a more outcome driven approach.

The event will see the participation of G20 delegates.

In addition, the beach cleaning campaign will take place across more than 30 beaches in nine coastal states and four union territories. The beach cleaning campaign is also being organised in over 20 countries including G20 and invited countries under Indian G20 presidency, with the support of Indian embassies/consulates.

The campaign has been planned by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change in collaboration with Ministry of Earth Sciences with active participation of Indian Coastal States/UTs and other G20 countries. It is part of efforts to enhance awareness and sensitize citizens on the role of community participation in tackling the challenges of climate change.

India also seeks to enhance cooperation among G20 nations to promote sustainable management of oceans, and marine biodiversity conservation. The Mega Beach Clean Up campaign in Mumbai will be followed by deliberations on the Ocean20 Dialogue - a platform to share best practices on science, technology and innovation, policy, governance and participation, and blue finance mechanisms to ensure a sustainable and a climate resilient Blue economy.

The Ocean 20 platform, launched during the Indonesia Presidency Dialogue, was aimed to advance ideation and action for ocean solutions.

First day sessions of the meeting will cover different aspects of Blue Economy; its science, technology and innovation. Subsequent session will be on policy, governance and participation followed with a concluding session on establishing blue finance mechanisms for Blue Economy.

Next two days of the 3rd ECSWG will have discussions on the draft Ministerial Communique with deliberations tuned towards achieving a consensus amongst the G20 countries. All sessions are closed door.

The third ECSWG meeting is a critical step in fostering the efforts of the G20 countries, invitee countries, and international organizations towards a sustainable and resilient future.

Fostering sustainable lifestyle ie; harmony with the environment, through LiFE Mission, - a visionary call by Prime Minister is also being promoted through the beach cleaning campaign. The concept of 'LiFE' (Lifestyle for Environment) championed by India will play an essential role in this event. The overall objective of the campaign is to bring in Jan Bhagidari (Community participation) among the public at large to achieve the objective of LiFE – Lifestyle for Environment.

More than 10,000 volunteers will be participating in this campaign involving multiple stakeholders, including local communities, governments, local administrations, private organisations/ corporates and NGOs working for conservation and management of coastal ecosystem.

The Environment and Climate Sustainability Group (ECSWG) under India’s G20 Presidency aims to enhance cooperation among G20 nations and  to develop state of the art solutions for sustainable management of oceans and marine biodiversity conservation.