Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Manmohan Singh's recipe to tackle global warming

Rediff (India): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh categorically stated on Wednesday that India would not consider any 'quantitative restrictions on carbon emissions,' and said that the first and overriding priority for all developing nations is poverty eradication. The prime minister was intervening at the Major Economies Meeting in Toyako, Hokkaido, Japan, the venue of the G8 Summit.Leaders of India, Japan, China, the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom met as the world's major economies at the summit. Dr Singh also criticised the world's most industrialised countries for not showing any 'demonstrable progress on even the low levels of agreed greenhouse gas reduction,' even as the prognosis is that emissions from the developed nations will continue to rise even further in the years to come.

He also said that as a responsible nation, India is mindful of its international obligations. Despite the fact that its per capita emissions are amongst the lowest in the world, India has adopted a strong National Action Plan on Climate Change. Dr Singh, however, reiterated that India is committed to the path of sustainable development, but stressed that even as the country pursues economic growth and development aggressively, its per capita emissions will not exceed those of developed countries.

Map of India, Wikimedia Commons

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