Manmohan Singh says developed nations must cut emissions to tolerable levels

New Delhi, Oct 22 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Thursday said that if developed countries make a serious effort to bring their per capita emissions within tolerable levels, they will unleash large resources directed towards research.

Inaugurating a conference on climate change here, Dr Singh said, "We stand committed that our per capita carbon emissions will never exceed the average of the per capita carbon emissions of developed countries.

"Developing countries cannot and will not compromise on development. But as responsible members of the global community we also do recognise that we, along with other members of the global community, must do our bit to keep our emissions footprint within levels that are sustainable and equitable," he added.

"Equating GHG emissions across nations on a per capita basis is the only just and fair basis for a long-term global arrangement on climate change," he added.

He said the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change should play a leading role in directing effective and collaborative actions in this vital area.

He said India's development path has been relatively benign from the climate change perspective thus far.

"Our per capita consumption of primary energy is less than one-fourth of the world average and our per capita emission of CO2 is among the lowest in the world. Moreover, the energy intensity of our output has been continuously declining in the last 30 years," he added.

He also pointed out that the approach has been adopted successfully in the case of pharmaceutical technologies for the benefit of HIV/AIDS victims in developing countries.

"The moral case of a similar approach for protecting our planet and its life support system is equally compelling," he added. (ANI)