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PM Manmohan Singh on Friday hit out at industrialised
countries over the issue of making available additional finance and
technology to help developing world reduce carbon emissions, saying
there is “little evidence” of support for them. >Dr Singh also made a
strong plea for
finding new pathways for sustainable living since the current
consumption patterns in the industrialized world are unsustainable.The
prime minister enunciated India’s
stand in his address during the plenary session of the Rio+20 summit,
which is officially known as the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development.“Many countries could do more if
additional finance and technology were available. Unfortunately, there
is little evidence of support from the industrialised countries in these
areas(reducing emissions intensity). The ongoing economic crisis has
made matters worse,” he said.Describing economic development,
social inclusion and environmental sustainability as all equally
critical as components of sustainable development, Prime Minister Singh
said that the task before the world community is to give practical shape
and content to this architecture in a manner that allows each country
to develop according to its own national priorities and
circumstances.>Observing that the Rio+20 Summit was
meeting at a time of serious economic crisis and political ferment in
the world, the prime minister said it is timely because it focuses the
world community’s minds on “the future we want” and how to realise it.
“Difficult though it may seem, we have
to summon the imagination to balance the costs that we will incur in
the present with the benefits that will accrue to future generations,”
said Prime Minister Singh, who was among the 125 world leaders who
participated in the deliberations.The Prime Minister made it clear to
the summit that for developing countries, inclusive growth and a rapid
increase in per capita income levels are development imperatives.
“Those living at the subsistence level
cannot bear the costs of adjustment and their livelihood considerations
are important in determining how scarce natural resources such as land,
water and forests are used. The severe deterioration of land and water
resources is already affecting the well- being of millions of people
living on the edges of subsistence, particularly women and children,” he
said.>Noting that Sustainable development
also mandated the efficient use of available natural resources, Singh
said the world community has to be much more frugal in the way it uses
natural resources.A key area of focus is energy. We
have to promote universal access to energy, while at the same time,
promoting energy efficiency and a shift to cleaner energy sources by
addressing various technological, financial and institutional
constraints. In India, we are implementing an ambitious National Solar
Mission as a critical option for our energy security,” he said.Observing
that environmental sustainability is the third leg of the sustainable
development
architecture, the prime minister said that economic activity invariably
results in negative spinoffs, either by way of local pollution, or by
way of global effects such as Greenhouse Gas emissions.“We need to
tackle both,” said the prime minister.Dr Singh also spoke about issues
relating to local pollution and how it can be regulated and how such
regulation may impose costs on various economic actors.“To ensure
equity, there may be a case
for targeted assistance to small producers to meet part of these costs
and this should be built into policy,” he said.At the global level, Dr
Singh said that the approach to the problem should be guided by
equitable burden sharing.“It is for this reason that the first
Rio Summit enshrined the principle of common but differentiated
responsibilities. I am happy we have reaffirmed this principle as well
as the principle of equity during this Summit,” he said.This does not,
however, mean that countries should not take proactive actions to
promote sustainable development, Dr Singh said.“In India, our efforts
over the last
two decades have yielded positive results. Over the period 1994-2007,
our emissions-GDP intensity, excluding agriculture, has declined nearly
25 per cent. Looking ahead, we have set a target to further reduce the
emissions intensity of GDP by 20-25 per cent between 2005 and 2020, the
prime minster said.Stating that one of the key challenges
that demanded urgent global action is the worrying depletion of
bio-diversity across our planet, Dr Singh said the Eleventh Conference
of Parties on Convention on Biodiversity is being hosted by India in
October this year at Hyderabad.“We look forward to working with the
global community to make it a success,” he said.“The future we want
should be a future
in which there is ecological and economic space for sustainable growth
for all. Let us work together to attain the future that we all
desire..,” Dr Singh added.
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