India at Rio+20
While the developed countries wanted the objective of poverty eradication to be made subservient to creating a ‘green economy’, India’s demand to put the goal of removing poverty above all other objectives in the final
Rio+20 declaration- called ‘The Future We Want’-was agreed to. “Eradicating poverty is the greatest global challenge facing the world today and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development,” the declaration states.
India also led the G77 developing country block in demanding a $30-billion fund for sustainable development, starting next year. The developed countries had stalled negotiations on how the world should fund the move towards sustainable development in a attempt to diminish their existing obligations to provide money and technology to the poor countries. The demand forced the US and EU to take the middle path and agree to set up an inter-governmental process of determining where funds and technologies would come from to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
The G77 countries managed to ensure that EU does not force a pre-determined set of themes on which SDGs are set up. The EU had been keen to select more green themes – such as renewable energy target – for the world to achieve under SDGs, but the developing world had again argued against giving primacy to green concerns over other pillars of sustainable development’ like economic and social parameters.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh criticised industrialised nations for not providing additional finance and technology for sustainable development and described their current consumption patterns as unsustainable. “Many countries can do more if additional finance and technology are available.
Unfortunately, there is little evidence of support from the industrialized countries in these areas. The ongoing economic crisis has made matters worse,” said Singh while speaking at the Rio+20 conference. Earlier, environment ministerJayanthi Natarajan expressed her disappointment with weak political will in developed countries to provide funds, or means to implement projects, for developing countries.
The Prime Minister’s comments highlight the differences between industrialized countries and the developing world on the way forward for
While the developed countries wanted the objective of poverty eradication to be made subservient to creating a ‘green economy’, India’s demand to put the goal of removing poverty above all other objectives in the final
Rio+20 declaration- called ‘The Future We Want’-was agreed to. “Eradicating poverty is the greatest global challenge facing the world today and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development,” the declaration states.
India also led the G77 developing country block in demanding a $30-billion fund for sustainable development, starting next year. The developed countries had stalled negotiations on how the world should fund the move towards sustainable development in a attempt to diminish their existing obligations to provide money and technology to the poor countries. The demand forced the US and EU to take the middle path and agree to set up an inter-governmental process of determining where funds and technologies would come from to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
The G77 countries managed to ensure that EU does not force a pre-determined set of themes on which SDGs are set up. The EU had been keen to select more green themes – such as renewable energy target – for the world to achieve under SDGs, but the developing world had again argued against giving primacy to green concerns over other pillars of sustainable development’ like economic and social parameters.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh criticised industrialised nations for not providing additional finance and technology for sustainable development and described their current consumption patterns as unsustainable. “Many countries can do more if additional finance and technology are available.
Unfortunately, there is little evidence of support from the industrialized countries in these areas. The ongoing economic crisis has made matters worse,” said Singh while speaking at the Rio+20 conference. Earlier, environment ministerJayanthi Natarajan expressed her disappointment with weak political will in developed countries to provide funds, or means to implement projects, for developing countries.
The Prime Minister’s comments highlight the differences between industrialized countries and the developing world on the way forward for