Prime Minister 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 industrialised world are unsustainable.
The Prime Minister’s remarks came even as a draft statement finalised at the summit showed developing countries’ failure to get any figures in paragraphs about financing sustainable growth for poorer economies.
The Group of 77 and China bloc had demanded $30 billion a year.
Dr Singh 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, Dr 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 Dr Singh, who was among the 125 world leaders who participated in the deliberations.
Dr Singh 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.
“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.
“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,” he said.