PM to Take Part in Copenhagen Summit
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will take part in climate change summit to be held on December 7-18 in Copenhagen, it was announced on Saturday.
According to the announcement, Singh will attend the summit on December 18. It should be noted that the US has already announced that President Barack Obama will attend the summit and he will take part in it on December 18.
On Thursday, minister for environment and forest Jairam Ramesh told the Lok Sabha that India would reduce its emission intensity by 20-25 per cent by 2020 from the 2005 level.
He said that India was cutting its emissions in its own interest.
A few days ago, China, too, announced to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 40-45 per cent by 2020 compared to 2005, Brazil announced 38-42 per cent and Indonesia 26 per cent.
Ramesh said that India’s emissions intensity is already lower than other emerging economies and it has decreased 17.6 per cent between 1990 and 2005.
Some environmentalists, however, said that the government’s statement is a favour to the US.
“What we have to understand is not what the Minister said but what the Minister did not say – that India could well be doing this to help the Americans because the Americans want to shift the goal post, they want to move from legally binding cuts to voluntary targets. That is bad for the climate,” said Sunita Narain, Director of the New Delhi-based environment group Centre for Science and Environment.
A study by a non-profit group that monitors greenhouse-gas emissions showed that 68 per cent of 200 of India’s top companies said they were measuring their carbon emissions and have pledged to make global warming a part of their business strategy.
