New Delhi, July 21 (IANS) Stressing that India was “aggressively” walking the energy efficiency path and will reduce its emission intensity, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday asked developed countries to reduce their emissions “vigorously” ahead of the climate conference in Paris in December.
The statement by the minister for climate change came at the informal ministerial consultations in Paris as he reiterated India’s stand that the voluntarism to take action against climate change by the whole world should be respected, appreciated and taken to its logical end.
Noting that the concept of differentiation was cardinal to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) mandate, Javadekar said there should be no attempt to dilute differentiation.
“It should be reflected across all elements of the new agreement. The annexes are an important part and basic structure of differentiation and as such we should not play with the basic concepts and the pillars on which UNFCCC edifice of climate action is based,” he said.
“We are walking the energy efficiency path aggressively and we will reduce our emission intensity. But that is what India is doing on its own. Developed countries need to do it vigorously.”
Pointing out that India being a developing country, poverty eradication was its main challenge, Javadekar said the government was committed to deliver in a short span of time.
“Our target is to eradicate poverty first and our INDCs as (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) will indicate the action on this.”
“We are walking energy efficiency path aggressively and we will reduce our emission intensity. But that is what India is doing on its own. Developed countries need to do it vigorously,” he said.
Countries across the world have committed themselves to creating a new international climate agreement with the conclusion of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris in December.
In preparation, countries have agreed to publicly outline what climate actions they intend to take post-2020 under a new international agreement, in their INDCs, which will largely determine whether the world achieves an ambitious 2015 agreement and is put on a path toward a low-carbon, climate-resilient future.