Greentech Lead India: Economic Survey 2011-12 said
India’s per capita CO2 emissions are lower (1.52 CO2 tons) than those of the
developed countries.
India has taken a number of actions as part of its
sustainable development strategy. For instance, India executed the National
Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in 2008. India also has a domestic goal
of reducing the emission intensity of its GDP by 20-25 percent of the 2005
level by 2020.
The Economic Survey said pressures on land, air, water, forests and loss of
plant and animal habitant are growing. The survey cautions that a warming
planet is causing adverse effects, such as more frequent extreme weather
events.
It comments that the science and evidence of climate
change are compelling. Citing the Durban meeting in December 2011 which has set
some directions for appropriate responses to climate change, the Survey hopes
that the Earth Summit in Rio in June 2012 will take stock of sustainable
development priorities globally.
The survey hopes that the Twelfth Five Year Plan will be
setting out India’s priorities for a sustainable and inclusive, lower carbon
development path. India showed flexibility along with other developing
countries toward the success of the Durban Conference. Developed countries are
expected to reciprocate the flexibility shown by G-77 countries and India at
Durban.
The survey says that India has done well on all such counts of stewardship over
the past decades. It has followed a conscious path in response to the key
environmental issues. Sustainable development in terms of environmental
concerns has been a recurring theme in Indian policy and planning.
Economic reforms since 1980s have accelerated growth and
incomes. Social well-being has improved broadly, as measured by gains in
life-expectancy. India has stepped up protection of its natural environment,
such as its forests.
The survey comments that the 2009 State of the Environment Report by the
Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) clubs the issues under five key main
challenges faced by India, which are climate change, food security, water
security, energy security and managing urbanization.
Broad-based economic and social development is ultimately
the answer for greater environmental sustainability. Economic pricing of energy
and other resources will be a key to switching to more sustainable development
path. New technologies will be crucial, mostly in the private sector. But
social justice will also require stepped-up public spending on energy access
and other elements.