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Journalism of Courage
Calling for a 8220;reconceptualisation8221; in the role of development banks, Charles W Eliot University professor of Harvard University Lawrence Summers today said their lending, especially to middle income countries, should be linked to environmental objectives aimed at reducing global warming, apart from development issues.
Delivering the K B Lall Memorial lecture titled 8216;Global Warming and Global Finance8217; organised by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations today, Summers, who is also a former US Treasury secretary, said 8220;thought leadership8221; in tackling the problem of global warming has to come from the developing countries and the initiatives taken them 8220;would be central8221; in this regard.
While Summers was critical of the developed countries such as the United States for not being party to the Kyoto Protocol, he said that he failed to understand how development banks could finance middle income countries without linking the grants and loans to environmental issues. Summers said the 8220;absence of the US from the Kyoto Protocol raises questions on its Kyoto8217;s efficacy8221;. He also said that even though the developed countries are chiefly responsible for the past emissions 75 per cent, the ball would be in the court of the developing countries in the years to come to address the problem.
Stressing on the need to develop world targets in this regard, he said developing countries like China and India should begin to try and meet the goal to reduce global emissions. The industrial world should put forth a concrete and transparent policies to work on reducing Green House gas emissions and global warming as an 8220;international agenda8221;, he said.
Summers said there has to be 8220;far greater commitment in funding of research in the reduction of Green House gas emissions8221;.
