India’s climate stand
Apropos of the column “Resisting West’s carbon imperialism” (FE, November 30), the much publicised climate conference in Paris has raised considerable hope that a tangible and scientifically proven solution will be arrived at by consensus for immediate implementation to avoid an impending climate crisis in the world. However, one has to keep fingers crossed, as there could be conflict of interests between different countries in identifying remedial actions and in agreeing for appropriate measures for implementation. The consensus amongst the world scientific community is that climate change is the biggest threat to humankind. The deliberations in Paris will define the future world order and may take us towards sustaining the quality of human life. While the diagnosis is perfect, the prescriptions are still uncertain. The question is whether the measures to combat climate change will result in slowdown in industrial growth? The fact is that such slowdown would inevitably cause a huge setback to the developing countries, which have to increase growth, employment and income, much more than the developed countries. The other intriguing point is as to who contributes more towards the impending ecological disaster, the developing or the developed? There is yet another view that to reduce the pace of industrialisation and the consequent rise in carbon dioxide emissions, there is urgent need to reduce the demand growth for various products and services. Obviously, one of the direct contributors for the demand growth is the population explosion in countries such as India and China. Seeking answers to such questions will be important in Paris. Lastly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been advocating greater use of renewable energy, such as wind and solar, but then we must keep in mind that India cannot do everything by itself. All countries must come together to further develop technological capacities, such as for clean coal, and for reducing dependence on fossil fuels for industrial growth.
NS Venkataraman, Chennai
