Who is to act on climate change?

 K. Venugopal

Berlin June 8 The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and leaders of four other emerging economies, China, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, took the offensive in the debate on climate change asking the developed world first to make significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

"Greenhouse gas mitigation in developed countries is the key to address climate change given their responsibilities in causing it," noted a joint policy paper that was presented to the leaders of the G-8, the group of eight top industrialised nations: the US, UK, Japan, France, Italy, Japan, Russia and Canada.

This was a response to the assertion of the G-8 that cutbacks in emissions by only the developed countries would not be adequate; the emerging economies too have to do their bit. "We invite notably the emerging economies to address the increase in their emissions by reducing the carbon intensity of their economic development," the declaration of the G-8 had said.

Access to technology

The emerging countries said that access to adequate technology was a key enabling condition. "We need an agreement on transfer of technologies at affordable costs," they noted in their joint paper.

Aware of the constraints that patents imposed on transfer of technologies, they said, "Rewards for innovators needs to be balanced with common good for humankind."

The coordinated push followed a meeting the leaders of the emerging economies had on Thursday a day ahead of their meeting with the G-8.

They also used the occasion to call for a push to the stalled Doha round of negotiations, and for a new framework for international migration.

"The importance of labour mobility needs to be recognised at the same level as movement of goods and services."

The leaders agreed to continue their discussions on these and other issues in a more structured way till the G-8 summit in 2009.