Publication - November 12, 2007
So far the Indian government has maintained that our average per capita CO2 emissions are low compared to that of Europe and the US and for this reason India should be excluded from emissions reductions in order to drive development through the continued use of fossil fuels.
While India has a right to demand a ‘common but differentiated’ responsibility at an international level, there is the urgent need to look within India at the widely different levels of greenhouse gas emissions from the different socio-economic groups.
If developed nations need to cut their CO2 emissions not only to prevent climate change but also to give space to the developing world to catch up, without pushing the global temperatures over the tipping point, the same is true within India.