‘Carbon Emission Blame Wrongly Placed’: PM Modi Defends India, Developing Nations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that the blame for carbon emissions is “situated incorrectly” on developing countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the International Conference on ‘The Future of Environment and Climate Dynamics' in New Delhi said that India's per capita carbon emissions were ‘less than half of the world' average.

It is well known that the carbon emissions are being blamed on the wrong countries – the developing ones.” Numerous of my colleagues from the Global South are here. However, the facts of history are that even today, India's per capita carbon emissions are half that of the world, PM Modi told the delegates in Vigyan Bhawan.

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India is moving towards renewable energy and has been able to deliver on its climate change targets ahead of schedule under the Paris (COP-21) targets, he said, citing the non-fossil fuel capacity and the Indian solar energy achievements.

“Over the past 12 years, India has made extraordinary progress in every field connected to the environment, in every sector. Our major focus has been on renewable energy, and this has played a significant role in environmental protection. India is the only country in the G-20 that has fulfilled its commitments made at the COP-21 Summit in Paris ahead of schedule. We're focusing on renewable energy. We're the only nation in G20 that has already fulfilled its Paris (COP 21) commitments, well before its timeline. This is the power of New India," the PM added.

What is the topic of the conference?

The two-day conference is being organised by the National Green Tribunal on September 19 and 20. The conference is dedicated to environmental and climate dynamics matters and gathers the stakeholders of judicial, governmental and legal bodies.

Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant, Union Environment Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav, Attorney General R Venkataramani and NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava were also present at the first session.

This conference is attended by experts in the field of environment, Judges of the Supreme Court of India and High Courts, District Court Judges, Secretaries of various Ministries, senior officials, representatives of State Judicial Academies, State Legal Services Authorities, State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAAs), State Wetland Authorities and other stakeholders. It will also convene 17 countries' eminent Judges and judicial representatives.

On Sunday, President Murmu, along with Union Minister Manohar Lal (Housing and Urban Affairs) and (Power), Justice Prakash Shrivastava (Supreme Court), and Tushar Mehta (Supreme Court Solicitor General) will also attend the valedictory session.

The conference will feature judges from various countries, environmental experts, judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, district court judges, top government officials, representatives of various institutions and environmental organizations.

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The conference will be an occasion for deliberations over key environmental and climate issues affecting the globe, the NGT said. It will highlight the policy and implementation gaps and disseminate the good practices and enhance the cooperation among the institutions and stakeholders.

The two days will consist of four technical sessions on major environmental issues, and will work towards creating a roadmap for tackling current and future environmental and climate challenges.

The NGT said the intention behind the conference is to build environmental justice and institutional cooperation and to foster discussions about the increasing problems of the environment, climate change, development and justice.

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