Did G8 achieve anything on climate?

The agreement to "seriously consider" a halving of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 by the G8 countries can, in the context of the stone-walling being done by the United States on any climate targets, be seen as a significant step forward. The adequacy of this longer-term step, with no immediate or short-term commitments to alleviate the risks posed to developing countries from the committed climate change, is highly questionable.

The intent of the European countries to address the problem head on, and provide the developing countries some space and time before assuming quantitative targets, is commendable. If the US lays down as a precondition quantitative targets by countries such as India, then even this statement of the G8 will come to naught.

The US, along with other developed countries, has enjoyed decades of high levels of growth leading to their current unsustainable lifestyles. It is today resisting action, and putting millions of poor lives at stake, because its citizens may need to make some small compromises on the limits of luxury that they enjoy! India, on the other hand, has just embarked on its growth path.

India has 400 million people who are not even connected to the physical infrastructure of energy supply networks, an equal number who are served for less than 20% of their time and the balance who pay energy prices that are comparable with most developed countries - even without adjusting for purchasing power parity! About 90% of India's rural population still uses biomass fuels for cooking. Its HDI (Human Development Index) rank in 2005 was a low 127 and it is struggling to manage its fiscal deficits. The irony of the US using India as its crutch for inaction cannot be more stark.

The severe energy supply crisis that India faces has translated into measures that have reduced India's emissions/GDP intensities by nearly 30% over its 1990 levels. India will continue to be sensitive to climate considerations as its vulnerabilities are significantly higher and its adaptive capacities significantly lower than the world averages, but sustainable development for us has to come first.