As the two-day Rio+20 Summit kicks off in Brazil to brainstorm on how to save the planet by promoting a green economy, The Energy and Resources Institute of India (TERI) has called for a framework rather than “set of rigid rules” for countries to follow.
A TERI background paper on ‘India’s Green Economy: The Roadmap to an Inclusive and Equitable Growth’, says the challenges and priorities for developing countries like India are different from the developed world. It, therefore, calls upon the Rio+20 Summit to contribute to meeting the key goals of developing countries, particularly poverty eradication, food security, universal access to modern energy services, sustainable transportation, human resource development and sustained, inclusive and equitable growth that generates employment.
“Although India had achieved high rates of economic growth, deprivation levels in India continued to remain stubbornly high,” says the paper, and adds that the biggest challenge is to expand access to food, energy, water and other essential goods and services to growing population.
India, therefore, needs to link equity and sustainability in its road to building a green economy, says the TERI paper. It suggests that in the industry sector, small and medium scale units should be encouraged to upgrade technology. “Technological upgradation is also the key to finding solutions to the environmental problems and reducing energy consumption”, it added.
Terming inadequate financing as the “biggest obstacle to sustainable development implementation”, as the investment required for transitioning to a green economy is very high, the TERI paper called for additional financial flows from the developed to the developing countries.
According to an estimate, the global investment required for transition to a green economy is likely to be in the range of $1.3-3.4 trillion annually. This amounts to around two per cent of global GDP.