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The battle against global warming should not become the new nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), prime minister's special envoy Sham Saran has said.
He drew a parallel between global negotiations to deal with climate change and the NPT that divided the world into nuclear haves and haves-not. Saran said, “There is only a limited carbon space, which the developed countries have already 'occupied', leaving only a tiny portion for developing countries.”
About any country that did not control its greenhouse gas emissions may face trade curbs, Sharan said, “When the Rio summit was held (in 1992), it was dealt as a global challenge. You cannot make certain trade barriers condition to what obligations you have to reach.”
However, India would deal with climate change in its own interest, Sharan added. “We recognise that if climate change does take place, the worst-hit will be developing countries. Already it has been calculated that India is spending 2-2.5% of GDP on adaptation to global warming.”
The national action plan on climate change will be released next month. On the matter, India has been holding intensive talks with other countries, including China, Brazil, South African, small island states and even the LDCs. (Source: Economic Times)
May 9, 2008
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