New Delhi
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday called for a public debate on
power subsidies, asking if national leaders were "shirking our
responsibilities for political reasons?"
The prime minister also called for an international treaty that
would provide "climate justice" as he opened the Delhi Sustainable
Development Summit (DSDS) here attended by hundreds of Indian and
foreign delegates.
"We need globally acceptable and socially inclusive solutions to the
challenge of climate change," he said, his speech heard by
Presidents Maumoon Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives and Olafur Ragnar
Grimsson of Iceland and Prime Ministers Anders Fogh Rasmussen
(Denmark), Jens Stoltenberg (Norway) and Matti Vanhenen (Finland).
The challenge for India, Manmohan Singh said, was to provide clean
and affordable energy for all.
In that connection, he raised a number of questions: "Are the
persistent distortions in energy policies and pricing affecting the
environment adversely? What is the long-term cost of this short-term
benefit? Are we shirking our responsibilities for political reasons?
I want a public debate on this."
Manmohan Singh praised the summit's organiser, The Energy and
Resources Institute (TERI), saying it had provided a "climate for
change to tackle climate change".
"Today, societies around the world are challenging their governments
to tackle this menace," he said. "India will be at the forefront of
that effort. It is a collective human crisis but it also provides
opportunity for human solidarity."
Manmohan Singh said a national plan on climate change would be
unveiled in June.
"We need a global strategy to tackle climate change, but in parallel
we will also work at local, sub-national and national levels."
He saw this as a win-win situation. "The poor are often the worst
affected, but action on climate change can become action on poverty
reduction."
The prime minister spoke of the steps needed to tackle climate
change.
"We need technological innovation for reduction of energy use. We
need to improve afforestation, drought proofing, flood control,
coastal protection and fighting the melting of our glaciers.
"Public transport needs immediate attention. I have asked the
Planning Commission to come up with a comprehensive policy.
"We are setting up a national knowledge network for all academic
institutions working in the area of climate change.
"We are also considering the setting up of a venture capital fund to
promote green technologies.
The prime minister reiterated his stand he first mentioned at last
year's G-8 summit in Germany: India will never exceed the per capita
carbon emissions of developed countries.
Carbon emissions to the earth's atmosphere, mainly in the form of
carbon dioxide, is leading to climate change that is already
affecting farm output, worsening frequency and severity of droughts,
floods and storms and raising sea levels.
He hoped that delegates would endorse the Indian position.
Manmohan Singh said there could not be "a global development model
where the development options of some countries get constrained.
There has to be an acceptable standard of living for all.
"That is why we're calling for sustainable development and a new
global compact for climate justice that is fairer, equitable and
transparent."
He said: "We desperately need access to green technologies,
especially in areas like industry, transport, manufacturing and
agriculture."
Referring to negotiations for a new global treaty, he hoped that the
"finance and technology support structure" for developing countries
to address climate change would be in place by the end of 2009 when
the negotiations are set to be completed.
TERI director general Rajendra K. Pachauri said at the inaugural
session: "India cannot blindly ape the developed world. If we do
that, we'll imperil current and future generations."
To illustrate an alternative, Pachauri presented the prime minister
with a solar-powered torch and lantern and asked the government to
shift the current financial subsidy from kerosene to solar-powered
devices.
Boloji.com is owned and managed by Boloji Media Inc Privacy Policy |
Disclaimer
No part of this Internet site may
be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
