Saturday, December 11, 2010

Climate talks - Legally binding commitments not acceptable Jairam Rameshji

Dear Jairam Rameshji,
                                  I am writing what an ordinary citizen of the country feels. Remember it is these guys that have put politicians like you on the driver's seat.
                                  
                                 Legally binding commitments are not acceptable right now. May be at a distant future date, when things have been sorted out we can think about it. Your intention may be to give India's image a boost but it has proved counterproductive in the mind of the ordinary citizen He feels it is a sellout of country's interests.  We don't want any instrument that is against the present tenets of Kyoto protocol.

                               I am repeating here what I had written in one of my early blogpost. 
                               
If each person on the planet has the right to the same carbon footprint, the scale and speed of emissions cuts required by developed nations is far greater than the commitments governments are currently willing to make
If the world is to have a 2-in-3 chance of staying within the 2 °C rise between now and 2050 no more than 750 billion tonnes of carbon can be released between these two dates. If this calculated emission is distributed according to population levels, many developed nations would face almost immediate carbon bankruptcy.
At current rates and with 4.6 per cent of global population, the US would receive a 35 billion tonne allowance between now and 2050. US would use it up in around six years. The European Union's budget would run out in 12 years and China's in 24.  India and Brazil's allowances would last 88 and 46 years respectively at current rates.
Industrialized countries are duty bound to carry out rapid and comprehensive decarbonisation if there is any credibility in their utterances. So take up the cudgel Rameshji instead of going on the defensive

Post Script: This is not about climate talk: This is about the pat down of Indian Ambassador in US. The ordinary citizen on the street feels that US ambassador to India also should also be subjected to same kind of searches. He does not want any statements like “We are taking up the matter with US”. If I am the external affairs minister I would keep quiet and put a probe up the arse of US ambassador on his next visit to an Indian airport.

2 comments:

Ramesh said...

Nice one

CK George Clt said...

This comment is for the postscript.
I feel all American diplomats should be stripped down to underwear and searched on arrival.