Delhi statement to form part of Copenhagen climate talks: Ramesh.
India today called for accelerating deployment of green technologies to tackle climate change problems, saying it was the quickest way to lower the cost of the renewable options.
A two-day climate change conference, attended by 58 delegations and 30 ministers, noted that environmentally-sound and climate-friendly technologies could be promoted by international cooperation and appropriate domestic action.
The Delhi Statement on Global Cooperation on Climate Technology, adopted during the climate change conference in the city, would form a part of discussions at the climate summit in Copenhagen in December, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh today said while concluding the conference. “The Statement will go into the preparatory process for Copenhagen,” he said.
The Statement called for increased public financing in technology development, besides emphasising on capacity building, training, public awareness and education for successful uptake of technologies for adaptation and mitigation.
It also called for exploration of concepts such as a centre or networks of centres to support and stimulate rapid development and deployment of innovative technologies for climate mitigation and adaptation. The statement also demanded a mechanism to help draw up technology roadmaps to decide on specific adaptation and mitigation measures, to be adopted by developing countries.
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Importantly, the Statement said, “..reaffirm our commitment to the objective, provisions and principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to the Bali Road Map and to the Bali Action Plan, which seeks to enhance implementation of the Convention, culminating at Copenhagen in December 2009.”
The Delhi Statement also recognised the roles of both public and private financing to enable the accelerated large-scale development, transfer and deployment of technologies for adaptation and mitigation.
“The quickest way of lowering the cost of many renewable options is to scale up their rate of deployment and diffusion in developing countries,” said Ramesh while pitching for accelerating deployment and diffusion of green technologies to tackle climate change.
Speaking in the event, Danish Climate and Energy Minister Connie Hedegaard said the adaptation and mitigation efforts to tackle climate change would require “three digit billion dollars” every year. “Without money, there will be no deal in Copenhagen,” Hedegaard said, underlining that the world cannot afford a failure in the climate change negotiations to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
She also said there were “clear signs” of renewed political momentum in the climate change negotiations in the run-up to the Copenhagen summit.
“The Danish Prime Minister has proposed to have a meeting of the Heads of State in the last phase of the negotiations in Copenhagen as part of his efforts to reach a deal,” she added. Hedegaard explained that the meeting of the EU Heads of State next week would be able to break the logjam regarding European Union finance ministers failing to come up with a financial package to support technology transfer. On a comprehensive climate deal at Copenhagen, she said the details would not be worked out, but the main building blocks would hopefully be in place.