The big announcement by India that it will cut emissions by 35 per cent by 2030 holds many opportunities to achieve some 'green goals', and with last year's US-China pact on emissions, India is under the spotlight to deliver on it. A mere name change of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to include climate change will not suffice. This is not election propaganda.
Economists have rightly pointed out that development can no longer happen at the cost of the environment. At the beginning of the economic recovery, US President Barack Obama made all the right noises about restraining Detroit automakers by asking them to design more fuel efficient and economic cars, but political compulsions forced him to go soft on them. Environmental issues can no longer be the prerogative of individual governments; these should be dealt with on a global scale. Republican Party members - notorious for being hardliners - must arrive at a more sensible, centrist stand on vital issues that affect the entire world. A mature approach will rejuvenate their party prospects in the next US presidential elections too.
Anoop Hosmath Mysuru
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