Climate change: Britain asks developed nations to take lead

New Delhi, Nov 3 (UNI) Underlining that climate change will have an enormous destabilising political, social and economic effect on the all the regions of the world, British Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett today said developed countries have a special responsibility to take a lead in meeting the challenge.

''Historically, we have been responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions. Now we will have to bear a greater portion of the cost,'' she said.

''But no country--either developed or developing--should see such action just as a sacrifice agenda. Moving to a low carbon economy does not mean taking a step backwards. It is a leap forward,'' she said.

Ms Beckett was speaking on ''UK-India Partnership Key to Tackling Global Challenges''' at a function jointly organised by Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) and Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations(ICRIER) here.

She said nowhere was the globalisation of responsibility was more apparent than in the challenge of meeting and arresting climate change.

''The challenges we face today are not the ones that any country, however powerful, can overcome on its own,'' Ms Beckett added.

Quoting the report of British Economist Sir Nicholus Stern, she said the effect of climate change on the economies will be devastating.

''The size of the impact will be similar to losses in the range of five to 20 per cent of the global GDP. So there is no choice between economic developement and tackling carbon emissions. The report shows that we have to have both,'' she said.

The British Foreign Minister also said that every country should be left to decide for itself how it would make a switch over to a low carbon economy.

In this context, she said Britian fully supported India's civil nuclear aspirations and assured it of full cooperation in addressing the twin challenge of nuclear waste and proliferation.

She made a strong case for India investing in renewable energy, saying it can help achieve its security objectives.

Ms Beckett also said that India's growing status should be fully reflected in the UN Security Council and other international organisations and her government would continue to use its ''strong influence'' in the European Union, in the United nations and in the global economic institutions to push for India's case.

UNI NAZ PK KP1727