Ministerial action on 22 Oct 09
Serious effort by developed countries to bring emission within tolerable levels will unleash large resources directed towards research: PM
Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh in his inaugural address at Conference on ‘Climate Change: Technology Development & Transfer’ pointed out developing countries face critical challenges in enhancing their capacity to adapt to climate change and suitable mechanisms must be found that will provide incentives for developing new technologies while also facilitating their deployment in developing countries at affordable cost.
“In our country, we are deeply conscious of the vulnerability faced by least developed countries and island states. We too have large and vulnerable populations living in our island chains and in low-lying coastal areas. Whatever modest capabilities we possess to tackle this problem will be at the disposal of countries like the Maldives,” said Singh..
The challenge before the developing world is how to achieve our developmental goals while at the same time minimising ecological costs.
Developing countries cannot and will not compromise on development. But as responsible members of the global community they should do their bit to keep emissions footprint within levels that are sustainable and equitable, where technology and its diffusion will be a key element in meeting the challenge of climate change.
“The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change should play a leading role in directing effective and collaborative actions in this vital area, we believe that continuation of the process of incentivising the adoption of climate friendly technologies in developing countries in the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol should be a priority global concern,” emphasised Singh.
The Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol has proved to be an effective vehicle for promoting sustainable development in many developing countries, while helping developed countries accomplish the abatement of their GHG emissions at lower cost. CDM revenues often take some of the sting out of the risks associated with the introduction and adoption of newer and cleaner technologies.
Climate friendly and environmentally sound technologies should be viewed as global public goods. This implies that the IPR regime applied to those goods should balance rewards for innovators with the need to promote the common good of humankind. Suitable mechanisms must be found that will provide incentives for developing new technologies while also facilitating their deployment in developing countries at affordable cost.
Such an approach has been adopted successfully in the case of pharmaceutical technologies for the benefit of HIV/AIDS victims in developing countries. The moral case of a similar approach for protecting our planet and its life support system is equally compelling.
India has proposed the setting up of an international network of Climate Innovation Centres (CICs) which should act as vehicles for enhancing technology innovation and capacity building in developing countries.
These Centres could assess and identify locally-relevant key technologies and support their successful and faster development and deployment. Each such centre could focus on a key technological product that addresses climate change. Their task may also include addressing the diverse range of capacity, business and regulatory barriers to the development and diffusion of the specific technologies. The CICs in different countries may also cross-fertilize each other by sharing of “learning-by-doing” experience.
India’s development path has been relatively benign from the climate change perspective thus far. The per capita consumption of primary energy is less than one-fourth of the world average and our per capita emission of CO2 is among the lowest in the world. India stand committed to ensure that the per capita carbon emissions will never exceed the average of the per capita carbon emissions of developed countries. Equating GHG emissions across nations on a per capita basis is the only just and fair basis for a long-term global arrangement on climate change which is truly equitable.
“I have no doubt that if developed countries make a serious effort to bring their per capita emissions within tolerable levels, they will unleash large resources directed towards research. This will generate an upsurge of technology that will make it much easier for other countries to follow suit,” said Singh.
Courtesy: Prime Minister Office release
Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh in his inaugural address at Conference on ‘Climate Change: Technology Development & Transfer’ pointed out developing countries face critical challenges in enhancing their capacity to adapt to climate change and suitable mechanisms must be found that will provide incentives for developing new technologies while also facilitating their deployment in developing countries at affordable cost.
“In our country, we are deeply conscious of the vulnerability faced by least developed countries and island states. We too have large and vulnerable populations living in our island chains and in low-lying coastal areas. Whatever modest capabilities we possess to tackle this problem will be at the disposal of countries like the Maldives,” said Singh..
The challenge before the developing world is how to achieve our developmental goals while at the same time minimising ecological costs.
Developing countries cannot and will not compromise on development. But as responsible members of the global community they should do their bit to keep emissions footprint within levels that are sustainable and equitable, where technology and its diffusion will be a key element in meeting the challenge of climate change.
“The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change should play a leading role in directing effective and collaborative actions in this vital area, we believe that continuation of the process of incentivising the adoption of climate friendly technologies in developing countries in the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol should be a priority global concern,” emphasised Singh.
The Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol has proved to be an effective vehicle for promoting sustainable development in many developing countries, while helping developed countries accomplish the abatement of their GHG emissions at lower cost. CDM revenues often take some of the sting out of the risks associated with the introduction and adoption of newer and cleaner technologies.
Climate friendly and environmentally sound technologies should be viewed as global public goods. This implies that the IPR regime applied to those goods should balance rewards for innovators with the need to promote the common good of humankind. Suitable mechanisms must be found that will provide incentives for developing new technologies while also facilitating their deployment in developing countries at affordable cost.
Such an approach has been adopted successfully in the case of pharmaceutical technologies for the benefit of HIV/AIDS victims in developing countries. The moral case of a similar approach for protecting our planet and its life support system is equally compelling.
India has proposed the setting up of an international network of Climate Innovation Centres (CICs) which should act as vehicles for enhancing technology innovation and capacity building in developing countries.
These Centres could assess and identify locally-relevant key technologies and support their successful and faster development and deployment. Each such centre could focus on a key technological product that addresses climate change. Their task may also include addressing the diverse range of capacity, business and regulatory barriers to the development and diffusion of the specific technologies. The CICs in different countries may also cross-fertilize each other by sharing of “learning-by-doing” experience.
India’s development path has been relatively benign from the climate change perspective thus far. The per capita consumption of primary energy is less than one-fourth of the world average and our per capita emission of CO2 is among the lowest in the world. India stand committed to ensure that the per capita carbon emissions will never exceed the average of the per capita carbon emissions of developed countries. Equating GHG emissions across nations on a per capita basis is the only just and fair basis for a long-term global arrangement on climate change which is truly equitable.
“I have no doubt that if developed countries make a serious effort to bring their per capita emissions within tolerable levels, they will unleash large resources directed towards research. This will generate an upsurge of technology that will make it much easier for other countries to follow suit,” said Singh.
Courtesy: Prime Minister Office release
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