G-8's an expensive lunch, says PM

JYOTI MALHOTRA

New Delhi, June 5, 2007 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a fit of frankness three years ago, called the extended G-8 meetings with the developing world, ``an expensive lunch.’’

As he embarks on his third such encounter, this time for Germany tomorrow, the PM’s views are better guarded. Still, New Delhi will make no new proposals on the climate change issue that is exercising the western world these days, despite urgent appeals by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the PM on the matter.

``It is quite clear to us who is responsible (for this crisis),’’ Foreign Secretary Shivshanker Menon said today, adding that India would be ``very happy to offer to cut its per capita emissions levels’’ when it reaches the same levels that the developed world produces.

That is, the message to Merkel, via Menon is clear : India will not control its greenhouse gas emissions, not only because per capita emissions are very low compared to what the western world produces, but also because India fears that any such pressure will raise industrial costs, and thereby hamper growth and development.

According to Menon, ``any new ideas will form part of our own development effort.’’ That is, as part of the 11th Plan, the government will introduce energy-saving technologies, especially in the mass transport, housing and hydrocarbon sectors.

Still, with none other than the US, China and Japan having put forward new proposals on energy savings and climate change on the eve of the G-8 summit, the pressure on India has only been delayed, not denied.

For a start, China is one of the five ``Outreach’’ countries with whom the G-8 is having extended meetings over the next few days in Heilingendam, a German resort on the Baltic coast. The other four are India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.

Official sources said India would watch if the US, which offered to cut emissions in a major policy shift recently, would actually abide by its promises. They pointed out that India accounted for only 4 per cent of emissions worldwide, while the US accounted for about 30 per cent. Even if India continued to grow at 9 per cent annually, it would take 30 times today’s amount to reach US levels.

However, to get its own house in order, the PM constituted a council on climate change about two weeks ago, after he chaired a cross-ministerial meeting on the subject. Representatives from the ministries of Environment, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Agriculture, Water Resources, Science & Technology, the Planning Commission and other experts were present.

It was at this meeting that the government took stock of what India should do. It was all very well to argue that development must be green, officials said, but what would be the terms for negotiation internationally.

German officials said they were ready to help India with clean technology transfers, and understood very well India’s needs if it intended to grow at the same rate it was doing today. However, developing countries like India and China would also have to take the ``polluter pays’’ principle into account.

Seems like New Delhi, at the coming G-8 summit, will fall back on the ``common but differentiated responsibilities’’ principle that the UN has levied worldwide. That is, countries that pollute more should pay more.

ENDS