Manmohan Singh blames West for India's climate change problems

India's prime minister has launched a strongly-worded attack on developed nations, blaming them for climate change and the global slowdown.

By Dean Nelson, South Asia Editor Published: 5:37PM BST 07 Jul 2009

On the eve of the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Dr Manmohan Singh said the West must bear the "historical responsibility" for the climate change now affecting India and other developing countries, which had been caused by decadent lifestyles and centuries of industrialisation.
The Indian economy, which is still growing despite a fall in exports, is suffering the affects of a slowdown caused by unsustainable patterns of development in the West, he said.
"The global financial and economic slowdown has not been a crisis of our making, but we have had to bear its consequences. The slowdown in the advanced economies has affected our exports, strengthened protectionist sentiments and impacted credit and capital flows," he said.
His comments mark a new determination that India should make its presence more strongly felt on the international stage, and a backlash against growing calls for India and other developing countries to do more to reduce emissions.
India's economy is still growing by 6.7 per cent, which critics say is contributing to global warming, while its government is being accused of not doing enough to meet emission targets. Indian ministers fear Western governments, which have urged India to open up its economy to foreign investors, may impose 'green' trade barriers on goods from countries which do not meet their own emission targets.
The United States Congress passed the 'Cap and Trade Bill' last month, which by 2020 will require the president to levy punitive import taxes on products from countries which have not set legal limits to control their emissions.
India has strongly rejected any legal emission targets, which it believes would harm its continuing economic growth. Its environment minister has insisted per capita emissions in India are still considerably lower than in the West.
Jairam Ramesh said India had 16 per cent of the world's population India but contributed only 4.6 per cent to greenhouse gas emissions, while the United States accounts for five per cent of the world population but contributes to 20 per cent of emissions.
Dr Singh has now sought to put Washington and other Western governments on the back foot, blaming them for both economic and climatic crises, and urging them to work in partnership with India and other developing countries.
He said India wanted to see a co-ordinated global response and a "much higher level of stability and sustainability in the growth patterns of the developed world".
Developing countries, like India, had also borne the brunt of climate change, caused by the West. "What we are witnessing today is the consequence of over two centuries of industrial activity and high consumption lifestyles in the developed world. They have to bear this historical responsibility," he said.