opinion, many of the actions related to mitigation andadaptation are those we should be taking anywaybecause of their collateral benefits. The lack of global consensus on burden sharing is aneven greater barrier to securing an agreement.Industrialised countries in our view need to recognisemore clearly their historical role in the accumulation ofgreenhouse gases in the atmosphere. They shouldrespond with bolder initiatives to contain their futureemissions. I would also urge greater financial andtechnical assistance to developing countries both foradaptation measures to cope with the consequences ofthese emissions; and for mitigation to reduce theircontribution to future emissions. Developing countries also need to do their bit. I wish toassure this distinguished gathering that India willspare no effort in contributing to the success of thepost-Copenhagen process. The least developedcountries and small island states deserve specialattention due to their greater vulnerability to climatechange. India will support all measures to assist them,both bilaterally as well as in the context of a globalclimate change regime. We recently convened a meeting in New Delhi of theMinisters dealing with Climate Change from Brazil,China, South Africa and India. The aim of the meetingwas to carry forward the positive and constructive rolethe four countries played at Copenhagen. We wish tocontribute, together with our G-77 partners, to acomprehensive, balanced and above all equitableoutcome in Mexico, based on the principles of commonbut differentiated responsibility and respectivecapabilities. We will therefore participate in the negotiations in aspirit of flexibility, acknowledging our responsibilitiesas citizens of the globe. It is in this spirit that India,and the other BASIC countries, conveyed ourrespective voluntary mitigation actions to theUNFCCC by 31st of January this year. In our case it isour endeavour to reduce emissions intensity of ourGDP by 20-25 per cent by 2020 on 2005 basiclevels. We are also very serious about fulfilling andperhaps even exceeding this target. In the case of developing countries, climate action hasto be combined with their central developmental goals.In a poor country like India, where hope anddeprivation co-exist, sustainable development requiresthat the needs of the present are given at least as muchattention as the needs of the future. Climate action that delays or makes more difficult thebasic task of poverty eradication will be difficult toimplement. That is why in our National Action Plan onClimate Change, we have given priority to thoseactivities that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions andalso deliver substantial collateral benefits by reducingBelow: A scene of thepast? The National ActionPlan aims to reducepoverty and improve localenvironmental quality112PRE-MEXICO REVIEWpoverty or by improving local environmental qualityand human health.We recognise that we have to adopt a different modelof growth to that followed by the industrialisedcountries. But a lot of effort is needed to operationalisethe meaning and precise content of sustainabledevelopment. The Planning Commission of India hasrecently set up an Expert Group to prepare a strategyon a low-carbon economy in India. The Group will haveto work out a holistic approach that takes on boardconcerns of all stakeholders -industry, transportation,power, labour, micro and small industry and agriculturewell in time before we embark on our Twelfth Five YearPlan from April, 2012. India has already committed itself to a path ofsustainable development based on a graduated shift tothe extent possible from the use of fossil fuels to

" "PRE-MEXICO REVIEW113A MODEST ACCORD THAT IS FULLY IMPLEMENTEDMAY BE BETTERTHAN AN AMBITIOUS ONETHAT FALLS SERIOUSLY SHORTOF ITS TARGETSrenewable and clean energy, including nuclear energy. Within the ambit of our National Action Plan onClimate Change, India has already unveiled one of theworld's most ambitious plans for promoting solarenergy, targeting an installed capacity of 20,000 MWby the year 2022. We will soon launch an ambitious National Mission onEnhanced Energy Efficiency that will put in place aninnovative policy and regulatory regime to unlock themarket for energy efficiency, estimated at over US$15billion. It is expected that the initiative will lead toavoidance of capacity addition of nearly 20,000 MWand reduced carbon dioxide emissions of almost 99million tonnes. India has around 22 per cent of its land area underforests. This is significant, given India's growingpopulation and high population density and thissequesters around 10 per cent of our annualgreenhouse gas emissions. Our objective over the nextdecade will be to increase not just the quantity but thequality of our forest cover, since about 40 per cent of itis degraded forest with little tree canopy and cover.This will enable us to at least maintain this level ofcarbon sequestration even as we maintain an 8-9 percent annual rate of real GDP growth. It is clear the roots of the problem we face today are inthe current patterns of global production andconsumption, which are not sustainable. We are livingon an overdraft on Nature's resources and this isalready threatening the ecological balance, which isthe basis of our survival. It is my earnest hope that youwill approach your deliberations mindful of thechallenge we face, not as nations divided by frontiers,but as a world united as one common humankind. n