Page 16 - Low Carbon Development in China and India
P. 16
FOREWORD BY
PRAKASH JAVADEKAR
The challenge of climate change has been referred to as the
defining global issue of our time and it is not an issue that can be
solved by individual academic or scientific disciplines working
in isolation. Being a global public good, deeper effort at collective
action is required to ensure climate resilient development, especially in
emerging and developing countries where there are greater needs for
adaptations, because of their higher vulnerability to the adverse impacts
of climate change. This is obviously relevant for China and India. China
and India will need to play a catalytic role to limit the extent of climate
change and global warming to the levels which the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been working on. India and China
cannot by themselves solve the problem of global warming. A truly
global effort is needed and the industrialized countries in particular
have to make a major transition. Hopefully, the ongoing discussions
in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) will produce an agreed formula for equitable sharing of the
burden across countries.
While there are differences between the two countries in terms of
socio-economic attributes, natural resource endowments, and political
systems, both China and India face similar challenges and opportunities
when it comes to addressing local and global environmental and
sustainability issues. India required continued rapid economic growth
which in turn requires an expansion in energy use. Current levels of
energy efficiency and the current mix of energy supply sources in India
will be unsustainable and continuation of present levels of dependence
on fossil fuels also has implications for energy security.
India has taken several initiatives to explore the scope for low
carbon development. In 2008, India adopted the National Action Plan
on Climate Change which outlines policies directed at mitigation and
adaptation to climate change. India’s Twelfth Five-Year Plan, covering
the period 2011–12 to 2016–17 calls for faster, more inclusive, and
sustainable growth. At the China–India Strategic Economic Dialogues,
the two countries have emphasized to work towards sustainable
development, energy, and climate change cooperation. South-South
cooperation between China and India on existing and upcoming issues
will greatly enhance mutual trust and expand common interests.
Foreword by Prakash Javadekar xv
PRAKASH JAVADEKAR
The challenge of climate change has been referred to as the
defining global issue of our time and it is not an issue that can be
solved by individual academic or scientific disciplines working
in isolation. Being a global public good, deeper effort at collective
action is required to ensure climate resilient development, especially in
emerging and developing countries where there are greater needs for
adaptations, because of their higher vulnerability to the adverse impacts
of climate change. This is obviously relevant for China and India. China
and India will need to play a catalytic role to limit the extent of climate
change and global warming to the levels which the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been working on. India and China
cannot by themselves solve the problem of global warming. A truly
global effort is needed and the industrialized countries in particular
have to make a major transition. Hopefully, the ongoing discussions
in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) will produce an agreed formula for equitable sharing of the
burden across countries.
While there are differences between the two countries in terms of
socio-economic attributes, natural resource endowments, and political
systems, both China and India face similar challenges and opportunities
when it comes to addressing local and global environmental and
sustainability issues. India required continued rapid economic growth
which in turn requires an expansion in energy use. Current levels of
energy efficiency and the current mix of energy supply sources in India
will be unsustainable and continuation of present levels of dependence
on fossil fuels also has implications for energy security.
India has taken several initiatives to explore the scope for low
carbon development. In 2008, India adopted the National Action Plan
on Climate Change which outlines policies directed at mitigation and
adaptation to climate change. India’s Twelfth Five-Year Plan, covering
the period 2011–12 to 2016–17 calls for faster, more inclusive, and
sustainable growth. At the China–India Strategic Economic Dialogues,
the two countries have emphasized to work towards sustainable
development, energy, and climate change cooperation. South-South
cooperation between China and India on existing and upcoming issues
will greatly enhance mutual trust and expand common interests.
Foreword by Prakash Javadekar xv
