Comments
The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Thursday said there appeared to be a “lack of collective global will” to solve the problem of climate change, which could not be fought individually.
“...it is necessary to recognise that currently there appears to be a lack of collective global will to address this problem with the seriousness it deserves,” he said at the inauguration of the 12th edition of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit organised by TERI.
Noting that the per capita emission in developed countries was 10 to 12 times than that of those in developing countries, Dr Singh said it was necessary to cut total emissions, but a way must be found so that countries are not deprived of their right to develop.
He said India was committed to the cause of sustainable development and would play a constructive role to ensure that a “fair and equitable’’ agreement is reached at globally.
Recalling the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development of 1992, he said it had stated that the right to development must be fulfilled to equitably meet the needs of present and future generations. It also recognised that eradicating poverty was an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.
Towards this, India’s Twelfth Plan was being designed to ensure significant benefits for climate change along with inclusive and sustainable development, he said.
Tiger population
Dr Singh also announced the “heart-warming news” that India's tiger population is on the rise. He said the 2011 tiger census showed a 20 per cent rise in the number of tigers over 2006.
“We have estimated that there are today around 1,700 wild tigers in India out of a global population of around 3,000. I hope that the lessons learnt will be used to conserve other endangered species as well,’’ he added.
Forest cover
India's forest cover, too, had gone up by nearly 5 per cent between 1997 and 2007, with a small decrease since then. “We hope to see further accretion with the implementation of the Green India Mission which aims to increase the forest and tree cover by 5 million hectares and improve forest cover on another 5 million hectares,’’ he added.
Earlier, the Prime Minister gave away this year’s Sustainable Development Leadership Award to the President of Finland, Ms Tarja Halonen.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.