"We'll examine Government's commitment to Kyoto protocol"
CHENNAI : A seven-member delegation of French parliamentarians is currently touring India as part of a global mission to assess policy and ground-level responses to climate change and global warming. The delegation forms part of a 31-member parliamentary fact-finding Committee of Climate Change institutionalised by the French Government to assess global strategies to deal with climate change.
"We will study the Indian Government's commitment to the Kyoto protocol and see to what extent the switch to renewable energy sources forms part of the government policy. Also, we will try to assess how clean development mechanism (CDM) for industries works at the ground level," Jean Yves Le Deaut, head of the delegation, told The Hindu after visiting the University of Madras here on Thursday to see how environmental education components formed part of the varsity curriculum.
The delegation had earlier visited the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain.
"Climate change is emerging as a serious global threat with global warming threatening to go up by two to five degrees Celsius in the twenty first century. We are aiming to create this awareness among the global community," Mr. Le Deaut added.
Asked whether France would bring pressure upon the U.S. government to sign the Kyoto protocol, he said while the country was yet to bring in a federal-level mechanism for the same, individual states such as California had shown an eagerness to join in. With more and more nations joining the protocol, the U.S. would soon have to join in too, he added.
While CDM would work well for larger industries, small and medium industries were still unwilling to join in due to the higher cost of technology. The French government was looking forward to working with Indian educational institutions on nanotechnology and biomass technology.
The delegation was so far impressed with the Indian Government's commitment to both the Kyoto protocol and the development of CDM, he said adding that the report would be submitted to the French government on April 12.
