The climate conference in Paris has to come up with a solution to the problem of technology sharing between developed and developing countries so that all can contribute towards checking environmental degradation, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has said.

“We need real cooperation in the area of technology to jointly meet the challenge of climate change. Technology should come to all countries that want it (to bring down their emissions) and it should come without barriers and at an affordable price,” Javadekar said addressing a national seminar on ‘Corporate vision on climate change’, organised by TERI.

Alluding to the US, the Minister said that there were countries that were endowed with alternative fuels such as shale that they could use to bring down their pollutants, and it was not possible for India to compete on that front. However, if given the required technology, India could compete in other areas and demonstrate its seriousness towards combating global warming, he added. Javadekar pointed out that financial institutions such as the World Bank were coming up with new conditions for funding projects, such as avoiding projects that are coal-based, which was not fair on developing countries like India.

“It has to be understood that our coal consumption will be much less than the coal consumption by countries like the US and China when they meet their commitments in 2030. Financial institutions have to recognise our growth trajectory and not come up with conditions that would hinder our growth process,” he told BusinessLine on the sidelines of the meet.

The Minister said that India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), according to which it has set a target of 33-35 per cent reduction in its carbon emission intensity by 2030, have been appreciated world-wide.

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