Brussels, 06/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - On his return from India, where he headed a delegation of the European Parliament temporary committee on climate change (see EUROPE 9593), MEP Guido Sacconi (PES, Italy), who also chairs the committee, said that the Indian authorities were becoming more aware of the problems of climate change. However, while India might be interested in the transfer by industrialised countries of clean technologies, it was still not ready to accept binding greenhouse gas reduction targets as part of a global system to combat global warming beyond 2012.
“From our meetings and discussions in New Delhi, we have understood that awareness of the impact and effects of climate change is taking root in India,” Sacconi says in a press release published on 5 February. To back up this statement, he speaks of the creation by the government of the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change, which will bring forward a medium- to long-term plan on climate change.
He goes on: “At the same time, our hosts also made it clear that, for India, the first priority is growth and the fight against poverty. They also indicated their readiness to be part of an international climate agreement, and stressed the paramount importance of technology cooperation and technology transfer. These are certainly extremely positive messages. The critical issue remains, however, that, at this stage, India is not prepared, given its per capita emissions, to accept any binding emissions targets”.
The temporary climate change committee returned in November from China with the same message (see EUROPE 9541). China is another major emerging country which has to be persuaded to play its part in combating global warming with the rapid opening of international negotiations, under the aegis of the United Nations, to increase the chances of a world agreement in 2009, based on differentiated efforts from the various countries depending on their level of development and their responsibility for climate change.
After visiting India, the Parliamentary delegation, led by Romana Jordan Cizelj (EPP-ED, Slovenia), travels to Bangladesh, where it will stay until 7 February. It will have meetings with civil society and with local and national authorities, and will visit the district of Sirajganj, an area badly affected by coastal flooding. (A.N.)