Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 07/19/2009 12:32:40 PM PDT by MyTwoCopperCoins
Now, you don't get this often. An Indian minister talking straight and sharp. Less diplomatic, but quite political on an important global issue. In the presence of the United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Todd Stern, US president Barack Obama's special envoy for climate change, Indian Minister for the Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh spoke in no-nonsense terms on India's actual position on climate change and, in process, gave a response in the same coin to none other than New York Times' strong editorial which gave advise and comments on the Indo-US bilateral issues, including climate change and Pakistan.
'Not in a position to take on legally binding emission reductions'
On Sunday afternoon, during Clinton's visit to ITC green centre in Gurgaon, few questions were invited from media. In response to a question, Ramesh said, "Let me tell you clearly and categorically that we are simply not in a position to take on legally binding emission reductions."
By saying this India has told Todd what is the bottom-line of the talks on climate change, which he is going to have with Ramesh on Tuesday.
On its 17 July editorial, New York Times sharply commented on various issues including climate change.
The editorial says that it is time for India to take more responsibility internationally. "It needs to do more to revive the world trade talks it helped torpedo last year and -- as a major contributor to global warming -- to join the developed countries in cutting greenhouse gas emissions."
Ramesh told the gathering in Gurgaon that India is not running away from the mitigation of carbon emission. India already has the National Action Plan on Climate Change in place. It will enable India to adapt to the effects of climate change.
He said that the plan is very specific, and pointed policies for the mitigation of carbon emission.
Emphasising that India is not oblivious to the issue of carbon emission, he said, "Energy efficiency is the fundamental driver of our economic strategy." In fact, Jairam Ramesh presented a smart Power-Point message outlining India's stand on climate change and invited an Indo-US joint action in the sector.
Ramesh also said there should be research programmes between India and US on climate change, joint efforts in institution-building as well.
Many experts believe that in view of the Western countries' pressure, India and China would ultimately have to accept some quantifiable caps on their carbon emissions at the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change, but Ramesh's unambiguous language on India's bottom-line on the issue, that too in the presence of Clinton and Stern, makes it clear that India will play a hard bargain contrary to media reports that earlier suggested that in Italy, in the Major Economies Forum, India had changed its position on the issue.
We may have to listen to the communist assclown in the White House, but India and China don’t. They tell him to pound sand.
No one respects these amateurs.
>> Environment minister Jairam Ramesh asserted that New Delhi was “simply not in a position” to accept any legally binding emission reductions
The *environment minister* sides with economic growth over environmental wackoism ! <<
HEY OBAMA, outsource the EPA chief job to India STAT!!!
Oh and the Enviro-Czar position as well, I head “Bill Smith” from Bangalore is qualified and ready to go.
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