India could play heroic role at Paris talks: Greenpeace

Greenpeace chief Kumi Naidoo urged the prime minister to embrace 100% renewable energy access goal by 2050

India could play a 'heroic role' at the 21st Conference of the Parties (CoP21), Greenpeace chief Kumi Naidoo has said in an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He also urged the prime minister to embrace 100% renewable energy access goal by 2050.

Greenpeace, whose Indian arm has been in tussle with the Modi government over cancellation of its license, said it sees India as a "leader in the coming renewable energy revolution".

Expressing sympathy with those affected by the floods in Chennai, Naidoo said in his letter written from Paris: "I have read in media reports that you have explicitly linked floods in Chennai to human-induced climate change... experts suspect that the Chennai floods, and the earlier flooding in other parts of Tamil Nadu, are examples of climate change impacts."
 

 

Modi, while inaugurating the India pavilion at the UN Climate Change Conference said earlier that the climate change was a major global challenge and was not of "our (India's) making".

"Climate change was not made in India, but the price is being paid in India. Could the grounds for a solution now be laid by India? Could you, the political leader of nearly one-fifth of humanity, make history by securing a deal for the world," Naidoo questioned.

The letter stated that Greenpeace and civil society stands with India in demanding accountability from the major polluters.

"We recognise that richer countries are still not doing enough. But if India moves in the process forcing riches countries to move too, it will not just be campaigners like me who will be grateful to you, but billions of people not yet born," Naidoo said.