India not in hurry to make any carbon pollution reduction pledge to UN

The Economic Times , Thursday, April 02, 2015
Correspondent : Urmi Goswami
NEW DELHI: The US on Tuesday made its most ambitious pledge to the United Nations to reduce carbon pollution, a move that experts say would put more pressure on countries like India to act against emissions, the chief contributor to worsening air quality.

India has made it clear it will not be hurried into making an announcement, even as it is serious about taking action to address carbon pollution which is causing climate change. During US President Barack Obama's January visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear India was not affected by other countries. However, Modi stressed that there was pressure from future generations to act on climate change.

The official US submission, which details the announcement made by Obama in Beijing in November - to reduce the amount of carbon it produces by as much as a quarter - represents the biggest commitment made by the US in over two decades of UN-sponsored climate negotiations. Attention is now likely to shift on India to submit pledges for addressing climate change and pollution in the post-2020 period. The US pledges to reduce carbon pollution include adoption of fuel economy standards for vehicles, energy conservation in buildings, and reducing pollution from power plants and methane emissions from landfills.

"The US' target is ambitious and achievable, and we have the tools we need to reach it. The goal will roughly double the pace at which we're reducing carbon pollution through cost-effective measures using laws already on the books," Obama administration's senior adviser Brian Deese said on the White House blog.

Since the November announcement in Beijing, Obama has been proactively pushing major economies to take more aggressive action to deal with carbon pollution. With its Paris pledges now out of the way, the US is likely to resume its efforts once again, and India, which is the third largest emitter, will figure on Washington's list.

"The United States' proposal shows that it is ready to lead by example on the climate crisis. By enacting these common sense actions, the US can grow its economy and save money through cleaner technologies. This is a serious and achievable commitment....Some countries have already outlined how they will contribute their fair share to this global effort and many more will join the United States in the months to come.

Building on these national offers, A successful agreement in Paris will accelerate low-carbon transition already underway," said Jennifer Morgan, global director of the climate change programme at World Resources Institute, a Washington-based think tank.

As part of India's efforts to limit carbon pollution, environment minister Prakash Javadekar said on Tuesday that his ministry is in talks with road and transport ministry to put into effect more stringent norms for fuels, disincentivising diesel cars and vehicles.

"India is an independent country and there is no pressure on us from any country or any person. But there is pressure, when we think about the future generations, what kind of world are we going to give them, then there is pressure," Modi had said in January at a joint press conference with President Obama.

 
SOURCE : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/india-not-in-hurry-to-make-any-carbon-pollution-reduction-pledge-to-un/articleshow/46777717.cms?prtpage=1
 


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