âIndia canât commit to Kyoto targetsâ
NEW DELHI - India will be unable to commit to greenhouse gas emission targets when the first phase of the Kyoto treaty ends in 2012 as its energy-hungry economy is developing fast, the top UN climate expert said on Thursday.
Under the Kyoto climate change protocol which came into force in February, some developed countries will try to reduce greenhouse gas output by 5.2 percent of 1990 levels by 2008-12. But developing countries such as India and China are exempt from the treatyâs emission targets because they say their economies will take a serious hit if they change their energy policies.
And because they flat out refused to sign unless they were exempted. | As its fuel imports grow and demand for cars surges, experts say India -- whose economy is projected to grow at over six percent annually over the next few years -- could be under pressure to join rich nations in efforts to lower emissions in the next phase of the Kyoto treaty after 2012.
âWe (India) are a large political entity but should we be penalised on that account?â Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the United Nationsâ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, told Reuters in an interview. âPeople here are not responsible for even 1/20th of the extent of the greenhouse gases that, say, someone in North America is probably emitting.â
Pachauri said developed countries had to take the lead in cutting carbon emissions that scientists say are causing the world to heat up. âWe are not historically responsible for this problem. So the first steps have to be taken by those who are historically responsible -- the developed countries.â
"You guys wrote that goofy treaty, don't expect us to play by your silly-assed rules," he added. | âIf the developed countries do nothing and expect us to take the burden, thatâs clearly unacceptable ... we are a large country, a poor country, an energy-scarce country and, therefore, a lower-emitting country in terms of per capita emission.â
Posted by: Steve White 2005-07-15 |