The Hindu Business Line : `Emerging' economies to the fore again

Berlin June 6 The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, flew into Germany this afternoon ahead of his meeting on Friday with leaders of the G8, the informal group of eight industrialised nations that are holding their annual get together at Heiligendamm, a small resort town on the shores of the Baltic.

It is the third year in a row that India and four other so-called `emerging' economies have been invited to exchange views on global issues. They may not like the appellation: China for one believes it had `emerged' quite some time ago. Their rapid pace of growth in recent years is clearly what has earned them the invitation to the portals of the once-exclusive club.

Before they get to meet the G8 at Heiligendamm, leaders of the five outreach countries will have a chance to discuss informally the issues among them on Thursday when Dr Singh is scheduled to meet separately the Chinese President, Mr Hu Jintao, and the President of Mexico, Mr Felipe Calderon.

At the top of the G8 agenda is the issue of how to address the threat of climate change. The German Chancellor and summit host, Ms Angela Merkel, has been trying hard in recent weeks to harmonise widely differing perspectives of the G8 countries on what ought to be done to reduce emissions. But whether those differences are narrowed or not, there will be hints, if not pressure, on the five emerging economies to ease up on the emissions.

A background paper prepared by the External Affairs Ministry notes that while India has 17 per cent of the world's population, it emits only 4 per cent of the global greenhouse gases. Per capita emissions are thus relatively small, just one-quarter of the world average, and 4 per cent of that in the US.

The Government will, however, be keen to show that it will not be short on earnestness. It will offer the evidence that while GDP growth has exceeded 8 per cent, primary energy growth is just 2.76 per cent.

What it hopes to seek from the developed world is a freer access to energy saving technology that the developed nations have and protected by patents. This would be similar to the one that allows countries struck by epidemics to licence production of patented drugs.

Energy facts

India needs less energy today to produce a dollar of gross domestic product. The energy intensity has reduced from 0.3 kg of oil equivalent per dollar of GDP in purchasing power terms in 1972 to 0.19 kg in 2003. This is equal to that of Germany.

Energy efficiency of Indian cement plants is among the world's highest

50,000 MW of hydropower initiative to be accomplished by 2012.

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