By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : The US says it’s wrong to suggest it has wide differences with India on the issue of climate change as Washington only favours a flexible approach recognising the diverse needs of nations.
“India is an active partner in the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, so it would be incorrect to suggest that there are wide differences between the US and India,” a key advisor of President George Bush said here Thursday.
“There are some questions as to how we structure a new approach that enables the character of our commitment to be common while recognising that the content of that commitment means differentiating between countries,” said James L. Connaughton, chairperson of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
“A lot of people in India don’t have access to modern services; they deserve access to those services. Let’s see if we can come up with a technology to lower the carbon profile,” he said while briefing reporters on the US position at the UN conference on climate change underway at Bali, Indonesia.
“Clearly countries such as Indonesia and Brazil, their main focus is going to be forestry, the issue of deforestation. And that’s what they should be focused on,” Connaughton said, explaining Washington’s stand on a new UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012.
On the other hand, “countries like China and America should be focused very solidly on trying to come up with low carbon coal, to produce power from coal with low carbon emissions and how to deal with our roadway transportation-related issues”.
“So this is where you’re going to see some new configurations of countries focused on specific areas of priority and that’s where we need common action,” he said, noting that China’s likely to have as many cars as America by 2020.
“So we expect a mix. We can be much more flexible, we can be much more adaptable, we must be complete in our effort because the facts are fairly straightforward. In order to make a sizeable reduction in greenhouse gases it requires action by all of the major emerging economies,” Connaughton said.
Making a similar pitch, Paula Dobriansky, under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs, said: “… we think it is important to look at the diverse characteristics of all the countries assembled because one size doesn’t fit all in addressing the issue of climate change.”
“What may work in the case for India may be different as is working for Japan, as for South Africa, for the United States,” she said.
“So as we go forward, we specifically are looking at ways of addressing the common goal and objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing energy security, and also promoting and advancing economic growth, but doing it in a way that can provide for the kind of flexibility and approach.”
One of the issues discussed in the major economies meeting called by President Bush was in fact looking at specific national plans and establishing mid-term goals and targets toward that end, the official said.