NEW YORK, Sept 24:
India will take action on climate change not “at somebody’s dictation” but on its own volition, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “very much interested in climate change and environmental issues. He has proved it in Gujarat for 12 years that both conservation and protection of environment along with development is simultaneously possible,” Javadekar told PTI in an interview.
Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Javadekar was here yesterday to represent India at the high-level Climate Change summit organised by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
He said Modi’s absence from the summit does not mean that India is not serious about climate change.
“We are serious. (Modi) is committed (on climate change issues). We are doing our action but it is not at somebody’s dictation, it is on our own volition,” he said.
Javadekar stressed that India demands that the developed world “should not come out with new terminology” every time but “now walk the talk” on tackling climate change and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
“What we expect from the world is that the developed world must walk the talk on the Green Climate Fund as well as cutting their own emissions,” he said adding that for India, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the real mandate.
While there can be complimentary efforts to strengthen action, Javadekar said that parallel efforts will divert attention.
“We want to work under the UNFCCC mandate. There is scope for negotiations. We expect that Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) are determined nationally and not internationally,” he said.
Javadekar said that while India’s INDCs will be “ambitious enough”, at the same time basic principles of equity are also important.
“All will take responsibility, all will act but responsibility of developed countries is different and that must be recognised,” he said.
Javadekar said India expects that the UN climate conference in Lima in December should bring out more contours, more basic framework of the text which will be ultimately negotiated in Paris next year.
“The process of INDCs will gear up by that time. That can be discussed as good practices but they cannot be subjected to any kind of scrutiny,” he said.
Javadekar said India will pro-actively engage on environmental issues and will quantify its initiatives and contributions in the area.
On the issue of Green Climate Fund, he said, India wants critical technologies should be freely available, which can save costs but at the same time benefit all countries to develop their clean energy path.
On Modi’s upcoming “historic” visit to the US, Javadekar said India has strategic relations with the US and it values the bilateral relationship.
He described the dialogue between Obama and Modi as “all important” that will produce results “which will benefit both countries.”
Javadekar said Modi will address the UN General Assembly in Hindi, years after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also spoke in Hindi to the world audience at the UN.
“The content (of Modi’s UN speech) will be also be very important and not just the format. He makes speeches beyond people’s perception, he goes one step ahead and speaks from the heart. He will express with confidence the way on which we have already started,” Javadekar said.
He said the Indian-American people are thrilled at Modi’s visit and eager to welcome “a leader who has arrived, who has created history.” (PTI)
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