India attacks British and Western 'hypocrites' over cutting emissions

Britain and other 'hypocritical' Western countries must sacrifice some luxuries before asking developing countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, India's climate change envoy has told The Daily Telegraph.

By Dean Nelson in New Delhi Published: 2:42PM BST 05 Aug 2009

Shyam Saran said the country would not take any measures that could restrict its growth. Instead, it would fund developments to reduce carbon emissions, increase the generation of green power and improve energy efficiency.
Any further measures demanded by developed countries would be taken only if full funding and technological support was provided.

Mr Saran said his government was planning to cut carbon emissions through fuel efficiency and would bring electricity to remote villages through projects to transform agricultural waste into power.
Measures would be taken in India's national interest, he said, but the government would not yield to pressure from the "hypocritical" West.
"No one is prepared to touch their living standards," he said. "If you say, â You're producing Tata Nanos [India's new £1,200 car], what will that do to the world?' but not talk about your two or three cars per family, it's hypocritical.
"We can't be ambitious if we all protect our turf. We need a collaborative response." Mr Saran said he was pessimistic for the prospects of a far-reaching agreement on climate change at December's United Nations conference in Copenhagen because developed countries did not appear ready to make sacrifices in their lifestyles or pay for cuts in emissions they demand of developing countries.
The Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, has been under pressure to curb his country's carbon emissions as its economy grows but he blamed the West for creating the climate crisis through 150 years of "dirty" industrial development and demanded a $250â billion per year fund to help developing countries.
Mr Saran said developed countries accepted that they must take responsibility for reducing carbon emissions, and to finance any reductions required of developing countries, at the Rio Earth summit in 1992 but most had forgotten their obligations because they were inconvenient.
"Should we be surprised if we end up with a least common denominator result [at Copenhagen]? That's the way things are going," he said.
Mr Saran said developed countries were approaching the issue as a commercial opportunity for their companies rather than an opportunity for scientific collaboration. Solar power held the key, he said, yet there had been no offers from developed countries to share technology.
"If Europe or the US increased fuel prices by $1 a litre, it would make a substantial change in private transport, a major source of emissions," said Mr Saran.
"If you say it's not politically possible but tell me not to give electricity to our villages because it will cause climate change, how do I sell that here?
"I can't tell people they can't aspire to higher standards of living." India was meanwhile reported to be preparing to transform its desert border with Pakistan into a £7 billion hub for solar energy. It plans to line its southern border in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, with solar mirrors as part of a scheme to create what officials have called a "solar city'".
It will include a 5,000 Megawatt power plant backed by the Clinton Foundation, which officials believe would be the world's biggest solar energy station.