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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Times to be flexible

Times to be flexible

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published Published on Nov 30, 2009   modified Modified on Nov 30, 2009

Making a virtue out of the inevitable would appear to be the way forward in climate change negotiations. After the US agreed to reduce aggregate emissions 17% over 2005 levels by 2025, and China agreed to reduce the carbon intensity of its growth (emissions per unit of output) by 40% on a voluntary basis, there is pressure on India to place its own emission reduction targets. India should oblige. It can, happily.

The fact is that emission intensity has been coming down steadily over the years, thanks to technological changes. Even if the same level of incremental gains in energy efficiency are maintained, India can safely reduce its carbon intensity by some 25% by 2025. And this is the level of cuts that environment minister Jairam Ramesh has suggested as viable. If additional measures are taken, which India can and should, intensity can be brought down even further. So, it makes sense for India to accept measurable, verifiable cuts in energy intensity, in return for finance and technology to make those cuts happen.

The Chinese ‘sacrifice’ is something that will happen as a by-product of their ongoing efforts to bring down visible levels of pollution. If the Chinese were to switch to a market economy where capital comes at its true cost, Chinese growth would become more resource-efficient. India’s growth already enjoys low carbon intensity on this count. We need to do much more, particularly for the poor. India’s poor are the worst sufferers of high-carbon progress: they can least protect themselves from the ill-effects of pollution.

They would also suffer the most if and when climate change really bites. So, there is no case for making the poor of India an excuse for continuing with business as usual.

There are any number of things that India needs to do for its own efficiency and welfare gains, which will bring down carbon intensity drastically: shifting to higher thermal efficiency technologies in power generation even with coal, more widespread use of compressed natural gas in public transport, creation of efficient public transport and taxation to induce a generalised shift away from private transport, building new towns designed to eliminate/reduce the need for commuting to work, green buildings, etc. If we add up the carbon gains from such moves, they will be more than anything we commit ourselves to.


The Economic Times, 30 November, 2009, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/editorial/Times-to-be-flexible/articleshow/5282928.cms
 

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