Technology will be key factor in tackling climate change

NEW DELHI: India and the United States on Tuesday “registered points of congruence” in their approaches to climate change and agreed to continue to remain engaged on issues where there were divergences.

“The talks were useful and productive. We welcomed the fact that both see climate change and energy security as interlinked challenges,” Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Climate Change Shyam Saran told The Hindu after holding talks with his U.S. counterpart Todd Stern

Both agreed that climate change action must enhance and not erode the developmental prospects of the developing countries. They also agreed that technology would be a key factor in enabling the world to meet the climate challenge, Mr. Saran said.

“We need to talk more about mitigation and the scale of financial resources required to enable climate action in the developing countries beyond the significant action they are already taking such as India’s own National Action Plan on Climate Change,” he said.

The two countries further need to discuss how they could create a global regime that would allow rapid and widespread diffusion of climate-friendly technologies.

Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh explained India’s position to Mr. Stern. He said that even in a high growth scenario, India would not be a major polluter. “He appreciated our position and said we should work for an international agreement that would take into account the concerns of countries like India and China,” Mr. Ramesh said.

Earlier, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah told Mr. Stern that the U.S. should remove “barriers” that prevented research and technology transfer and ensure easy funding in the renewable energy sector to combat the threats of climate change.

“We told them [the U.S.] very clearly that renewable energy, for instance solar energy, is very expensive and, therefore, we are unable to give the boost that it needs. We also spoke on how they would make the research easily available to the developing nations, particularly to India,” Dr. Abdullah told journalists.