16 Dec : Climate change negotiations are in full swing at the UN summit at Copenhagen where India is actively participating along with other like-minded nations to press developed countries to take deeper emissions commitment, the govt told the Lok Sabha.
“…the developed countries are also being pressed for transfer of financial resources and climate change friendly technologies to the developing nations at the earliest,” Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena, currently holding charge of Environment Ministry said.
In a written reply, he said “at this stage it is difficult to predict the outcome of the Conference.”
Meena pointed out that as per Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, the increase in the stock of greenhouse gas (GHG) in the atmosphere over the last many years is responsible for rising global temperature.
“As industrial activities in developed countries started way back in 1750s the major stock of the GHG in the atmosphere is because of them,” he added.
Though not bound, the government is also voluntarily taking steps to reduce GHG emissions and two of the eight national missions, like the National Solar Mission and the National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency, are on mitigation, the Minister said.
Improved energy efficiency in various sectors, use of cleaner and lesser carbon intensive fuel for transport, fuel switching to cleaner energy, encouraging mass rapid transport systems are some of the mitigation measures being taken by the country to tackle global warming.