Paris: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday warned developed nations that it would be "morally wrong" if they shift the burden of reducing emissions on developing countries like India, asserting that poor nations had a right to burn carbon to grow their economies. "The lifestyles of a few must not crowd out opportunities for the many still on the first steps of the development ladder," Prime Minister Modi wrote in the Opinion section of Monday's 'Financial Times'.
"The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities should be the bedrock of our collective enterprise. Anything else would be morally wrong," he said as the leaders from 150 countries opened a 12-day UN conference on climate here, aimed at limiting emissions of gases blamed for global
warming.
He asked the developed nations which powered their way to prosperity on fossil fuels to fulfil their duty to shoulder the greater burden of the fight against climate change. Developed nations led by the US insist that the burden must be shared more evenly to achieve the aim of limiting global warming to less than two degrees Celsius. The issue is one of the major obstacles to a universal deal to control the warming of the planet.
In the article in the UK's leading financial daily, Modi said, "Some say advanced countries powered their way to prosperity on fossil fuel when humanity was unaware of its impact." "Since science has moved on and alternative energy sources are available, they argue that those just beginning their development journey bear no less responsibility than those who have reached the zenith of their progress. New awareness, however, should lead advanced countries to assume more responsibility. Just because technology exists does not mean it is affordable and accessible," he wrote.
"Justice demands that, with what little carbon we can still safely burn, developing countries are allowed to grow," he said and reiterated his plans to launch an alliance of 121 solar-rich nations in the tropics aimed at bringing affordable solar power to villages that are off the grid. "We expect the same from the world with respect to responding to climate change," he said. Modi along with nearly 150 world leaders are here to attend the opening of the climate summit with a central aim of the new agreement to keep global warming below 2°C over pre-industrial temperatures.
Modi, with a reference to Mahatma Gandhi, said, "We look forward to Paris with the sense of duty that Mahatma Gandhi called us to assume: We should act as trustees' and use natural resources wisely as it is our moral responsibility to ensure that we bequeath to future generations a healthy planet. India will do its part for success in Paris." His assertion came days after US Secretary of State John Kerry said India could be a "challenge" at the climate change talks in Paris as it "has been more cautious, a little more restrained in its embrace of this new paradigm".
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