Reiterating India’s long standing position, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has said that it is the responsibility of the industrialised countries to pay for fighting climate change for their historical greenhouse gas emissions. Speaking in the Capital on Tuesday on the concluding day of the India Economic Summit, organised by the World Economic Forum, the FM said industrialised countries are already committed to bear the responsibility, having committed this mistake over 200 years.
Referring to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities depending on the capability of the country concerned, he emphasised that the principle has been accepted and is well established.
Asserting that India has left it to UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) to resolve the differences between the developing and industrialised countries on the issue of financing the fight against climate change, Mukherjee added he was hoping for a positive outcome at the global climate change talks to be held in Copenhagen in December. He said, “I am confident that outcome of Copenhagen will be productive and help us.”
Earlier in the day, India’s special envoy on climate change Shyam Saran said, collaboration and transfer of clean technology are needed between industrialised and developing countries to fight the global problem of climate change.
Claiming that India has been behaving responsibly and taking unilateral actions despite financial constraints to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by unveiling the National Action Plan on Climate Change and elaborating on the National Solar Mission, he added such initiatives must be recognised globally. ?If we have to do more, then we do need global support,? he added.
Agreeing with him that developing economies like India have launched ambitious climate plans, climate economist Nicholas Stern said,? If the rich world has that deeper understanding, then suspicions that they are doing all these things and others are doing nothing will disappear.?
Saying that protectionist measures in the garb of reducing greenhouse gas emissions would not be the right response, he added, ?The right response is the collaborative one.?
Earlier on Monday, while delivering a climate change lecture, director of India Observatory at the London School of Economics had expressed support for India’s position and called upon the US to take a lead for the talks to succeed. “The climate deal should be principled. It means the deal should be effective, efficient and equitable,? he had said.