CHENNAI : There is an urgent need to strengthen bilateral and multilateral partnerships between nations to tackle environmental security issues, especially those related to climate change and energy use, Sir Michael Arthur, British High Commissioner to India, said here on Friday.

The concepts of society and environment were inseparably linked and sustainable economic development could be achieved only when environmental issues were factored into public policy making and private sector growth, he said.

He was speaking on `Environmental Security— Are we doing enough?' organised by the Centre for Security Analysis.

Two critical environmental issues that posed considerable challenges were climate change and energy use.

While a common response and global action were needed on climate change, demand and supply considerations mattered in energy supply, use and security. "The imposition of energy security restrictions is impractical in developing countries. We need to find more creative, environment-friendly ways of allowing energy consumption to grow at the pace required for development and economic growth," he said.

The recent energy Environment White Paper 2003 released by the United Kingdom linked the environment with energy supply security. In this context, the recent agreement between United Kingdom and India to conduct joint research into the barriers to the development of cleaner technologies and the joint statement on sustainable development were important steps forward.

The government, businesses and civil society in both countries should work more closely in developing renewable energy technologies such as biomass, solar, wind and hydel power.

Private partnerships between firms of both countries were already showing the way and the British government was taking the lead in pushing this sector. Also, there was increased scope for co-operation between both countries in switching over to indigenous resources.Energy use patterns imposed a bigger burden on developing economies and it was important that international debate recognised these implications, he said.

N.Ravi, Editor, The Hindu , lauded the role played by the CSA in fostering debate on critical security issues— especially, the environment— in the southern part of the country.