If it seems like this blog is obsessing over Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, it’s not by intention. Rather, Ramesh seems to make news daily in his effort to solidify the Indian position in global climate change talks.
The latest Ramesh salvo is directed at economist Sir Nicolas Stern–the author of the eponymous Stern Report on the economic consequences of global warming and an advocate for a strong international agreement that requires an equitable deal for developing countries.
Seeing that developed countries pay their fair share is the main position of Ramesh and the Indian government, Stern would be an unusual target for the Indian minister. Apparently Ramesh was irked at a recent speech Stern gave at Chatham House on the issue of India and climate change.
Stern emphasized the responsibility of developed countries to cut their emissions, but also made the point that it will nearly impossible for the world to meet the 2 degree centigrade warming limit being discussed without a deviation by India and China from business as usual projections. Stern argued that India could maintain its moral authority and help solve the climate crisis by agreeing to cuts from business as usual projections under the condition that developed countries also have strong reductions and that developed countries get financial assistance to transition to a low carbon economy.
According to the Times of India, Ramesh emailed Stern criticizing his assumptions on growth and pointing out that Europe is having a difficult time meeting its own Kyoto reduction targets.
While Ramesh and India certianly have the equity argument on their side, this intransigence is beginning to conern observers both in India and abroad. The editorial page of the Indian paper, Business Standard argues today that Ramesh should emphasize how the country has already been improving its energy intensity through a variety of domestic policies.
The same refrain is seen in a new article in the US magazine, Newsweek, which logs the shifts from coal to natural gas, improvements in appliance efficiency, and other measures that the country could use to make a case that it is charting a clean development course.
If anything, Ramesh has been successful in raising India’s profile globally in the lead up to Copenhagen as influential US Senator John Kerry said yesterday that the US needs to be more aggressive in partnering with India on climate policy in the same manner the Obama Administration has been cultivating a positive relationship with China.
Lets hope these efforts yield positive movement at the neogitating table.
Photo of Stern (center) with Indian businessmen Tulsi Tanti (right) and Nand Khemka (left) credit: World Economic Forum
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