Respect need for development: PM

No future global agreement on climate change can overlook the principle of equity — that “every citizen of the globe has an equal entitlement to the global atmospheric space”, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Updated on: Dec 19, 2009, 24:30:28 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, Copenhagen

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No future global agreement on climate change can overlook the principle of equity — that “every citizen of the globe has an equal entitlement to the global atmospheric space”, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The developed world — home to 15 per cent of the world’s population — emits 45 per cent of the green house gases but has failed to meet targets of emission reductions agreed under Kyoto Protocol (KP) in 1997.

Singh rejected attempts by the developed world to replace the Kyoto Protocol. “It should continue to stand as a valid legal instrument.”

During negotiations in Copen-hagen, the developed world tried to sidestep its own commitments under Kyoto Protocol while pressing the developing countries to undertake more than their previous commitments.

The Prime Minister’s statement at the conference reiterated the Indian position that the country’s economic development could not be undermined in a treaty, but India will play a “positive and constructive role” for an “equitable outcome” as negotiations progress beyond Copenhagen.

“Parties to the protocol should deliver on their solemn commitments under the protocol. It would go against international public opinion if we acquiesce in its replacement by a new and weaker set of commitments,” Singh said.

“Any agreement on climate change should respect the need for development and growth in developing countries.”

The Prime Minister’s statement soothed concerns that India may be altering its positions on climate change negotiations.

“It is a positive statement which indicates India’s concern about the poor who would be affected because of climate change in the African and small island nations,” said Sirish Sinha, head of climate and energy section in World Wildlife Fund-India.

“He has also shown how the differences can be resolved in future. The Prime Minister has stood by the views of the G-77 and other developing nations,” Kushal Yadav, head of climate division in the Centre for Science and Environment said.

Back home, the domestic political opinion also welcomed the statement.

The Left, which has been critical of the government’s perceived flexibility in accommodating the developed world’s viewpoint described the statement “positive.”

“After the initial summersault on its stand, the government has come back to the original position,” said CPM leader Nilotpal Basu.

“We will strain every sinew to arrive at an equitable agreement but ultimately, you need two hands to clap and unless others try to do the same we cannot walk the talk alone,” said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.Read More

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