145;Trade restrictions will nullify gains for developing nations146;

8216;Such restrictions may adversely impact economic growth and poverty alleviation efforts. We need to be more creative and less adversarial in our approach to compliance8217;

Speaking strongly against the provision of trade restrictions in the Montreal Protocol to ensure its compliance, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said this would nullify gains for developing countries and 8220;adversely impact8221; economic growth and poverty alleviation efforts.

8220;Let us not seek trade advantages through the instrument of environmental treaties,8221; he emphasised while addressing a meeting here of parties to the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer. The PM said while fulfillment of commitments in multilateral environmental agreements by all parties must certainly be ensured, the use of trade restrictions was 8220;not advisable8221;.

8220;Such restrictions may adversely impact economic growth and poverty alleviation efforts. We need to be more creative and less adversarial in our approach to compliance,8221; he told the delegates from 189 countries. He contended that gains for developing countries accomplished after strenuous negotiations in the WTO regime would be negated if trade advantages were sought. 8220;Let us not trim the flow of multilateral and bilateral resources for poverty alleviation to accomplish unrelated environmental objectives,8221; he said.

On the contrary, there was a need to ensure that the financial and technology resources needed to accomplish the objectives were administered efficiently. Singh said the success of the experiment in nation-building by India within the framework of a democratic polity was vital to the future of mankind.

8220;It is imperative that we make the process of economic development more inclusive, make globalisation more inclusive and make our societies more inclusive8221; to ensure that harmony between man and nature was sustained for all times, he said. Noting that the depletion of the ozone layer has emerged as a significant global environment concern in the last few decades, he said the challenge was to liberate people from poverty and provide employment for all while pursuing a sustainable development path that preserved common natural heritage.

He contended that the Protocol could have done better in terms of realisation of broader goals of sustainable development in developing countries. A joint statement by environmental NGOs said as the Protocol approaches its 20th anniversary, new challenges have emerged posing a grave threat to the ozone layer.

These included adverse impacts of global warming on the ozone layer and continued excessive use of methyl bromide for agricultural, quarantine and pre-shipment purposes and hurdles in enforcing current and upcoming phase-outs of ozone-depleting substances and controlling their illegal trade.