India on Monday said developed countries should present a pre-2020 roadmap for combating climate change before the 2015 UN Climate Change conference in Paris.
Addressing the Sixth Petersberg Climate Dialogue here, union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar said India would like to see a Paris agreement based on trust and which was balanced and realistic.
“India has emphasised that developed countries should present their ambitious targets for pre-2020 action and roadmaps for the same, well before Paris. It will be ironical that we formulate post-2020 architecture without finalizing a pre-2020 action plan,” Javadekar said.
“We would like to see a Paris Agreement that is based on trust, that is balanced and realistic. Let us not create a document full of pious statements. Let us also not complicate it further and bring in newer elements and ideas at this stage,” he said.
“If Paris is to succeed, let us welcome a new beginning where all countries take actions on their own!”
The minister said it was not about “sharing of blame or finger-pointing, but acting with wisdom, understanding and cooperation”.
Javadekar said “ambitious” pre-2020 actions of developed countries will “create the carbon space required for the developing world”.
“Every poor person has the right to equitable access to the atmospheric resources,” he said.
Javadekar said pre-2020 actions would be an “important signal to the world” about the commitment on climate change issues”.
“I say this with confidence, as India has launched an ambitious action, targeting 175 GW of renewable energy, and it has received a tremendous response from investors,” he said.
Listing out the steps taken to reduce carbon burden, the minister said India has increased cess on coal to Rs.200 per tonne, and the fund generated is being used for clean technologies.
He said afforestation has been incentivised, India has created architecture for 100 smart cities which will be essentially clean and green cities, and around 3,200 severely polluting industries have been asked to install 24×7 pollution monitoring devices for eflluents as well as emissions.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held in Paris from November 30 to December 11, 2015.
This will be the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
IANS