Premium
This is an archive article published on March 31, 2000

Give green a chance, says Clinton with Taj as his backdrop

AGRA, MARCH 22: The venue and the backdrop was just right for one of the most powerful men in the world to reaffirm the need to protect ou...

.

AGRA, MARCH 22: The venue and the backdrop was just right for one of the most powerful men in the world to reaffirm the need to protect our natural environment. “When we stand in the shadow of Taj Mahal, we remember that this is a monument built in love, the most important monument we can give our children and our children’s children, is the preservation of this earth that was given to us. We should give that monument in the spirit of love,” said Bill Clinton this evening minutes after he had visited the Taj Mahal.

He witnessed the signing of a historic MoU between the two countries oncooperation in energy and environment in the presence of a select crowd of300 people comprising industry and environment leaders. Also present werethe Governor of UP, Suraj Bhan and Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta.Clinton was introduced by Veer Bhadra Mishra, the founder of the SwachhaGanga Movement in Varanasi.

The goals in the joint statement signed by Madeleine Albright and JaswantSingh are ambitious by any standards. It says that India intends to achieveby 2012 a 10-per cent share for renewable energy in the capacity-additionsof electricity nation-wide. It would also aim for a 15-per cent improvementin energy efficiency by 2007-8. Never before has such a joint statement beensigned at this level, recognising energy and environment as the mostimportant areas of cooperation between the two countries.

Story continues below this ad

For this, Clinton promised through the US agency for InternationalDevelopment $45 million to promote more efficient energy production and usein India and $50 million to promote clean energy throughout South Asia. “Wewill make available $200 million for clean energy projects through theimport-export bank and we will take special steps to work with privateenterprise to address these challenges,” he said.

The private enterprise in this case was Confederation of Indian Industries(CII) which is playing a key role by forming a private sector trade andinvestment working group on clean energy and environment. Clinton would beinaugurating a green business sector in Hyderabad which would facilitateinstallation of clean technology in India by offering not just informationon the state-of-the-art equipment on energy efficiency but also arrange forfinances for interested entrepreneurs. A more specific MoU will be signed between them and the US Energy and Environment Institution.

Industry leaders and environmentalists present at the meeting felt thatthese were very positive signals where larger goals and tone has been set butit was up to the government to think of policy change on energy. “Sincepower is subsidised in the country, it is very difficult for cleaner sustainable technologies to come in the market. This means that to achieve this target, a policy change on power is required,” said Tarun Das, CII chairman.

For once, the US was not sitting on a high horse. Clinton in his speechadmitted that he was from a nation which was responsible for the largestemission of green-house gases. “The US will never ask India or any otherdeveloping nation to give up its economic growth in order to reduce pollution. But we do ask you to give us a chance to work with your scientists to prove that you can achieve even greater economic growth and make the environment cleaner.”

Story continues below this ad

The message was that even local problems had global solutions. He hoped thatthe Kyoto protocol on climate change would be ratified and enter into forceby “harnessing the power market to build a clean energy future”.

“They do not believe that India can grow wealthy unless you put moregreenhouse gases in the atmosphere by burning more coal and oil, the sameway US and Japan did… but it is no longer true,” he said. Electric vehicle, vehicles that use fuel from farm products and solar gases, buildings that use solar energy and, materials which keep heat and cold outside and are far more efficient, were some of the examples given by him to negate this theory.

Latest Comment
Post Comment
Read Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement