Letters: Environment, not money

Apropos the editorial "Waiting for Paris" (December 17) it is rightly mentioned that the climate change talks at Lima, which opened with high hopes after a recent deal with China and US to cut their carbon emissions, have ended in disappointment, with a deal of compromise between rich and poorer countries that sets no legally binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

It's true that it was agreed between developed and developing nations to make pledges by March 2015 on how much they will control emissions, but it is still not clear when and how they'll cut the emissions. The agreement that rich nations should provide financial support to poor developing countries is also ambiguous and not clear on the details and amounts.

The talks in Paris next year need to balance the interests of both the rich and poor countries to reach a concrete final agreement. The recent China-US climate agreement would also put pressure on India, which is the world's fourth largest greenhouse gas emitter, to cut its carbon emissions. The biggest challenge before India ahead of the summit in Paris next year would be to balance its short-term national interests with long-term global interests. So India needs to increase the share of renewable energy in its total energy consumption, which would decrease our dependence on the rapidly depleting fossil fuels. However, until countries realise that the primary concern is environment, and not money, nothing substantial will happen.

Rajendra Singh Gandhinagar

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