Onus on rich nations to provide green energy solutions: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed concern over the "painfully slow" progress in climate talks. He said the goal of stabilising global temperatures was "nowhere in sight", and pitched for countries to take individual action to increase energy efficiency.

Inaugurating the Fourth Clean Energy Ministerial conference in New Delhi, the Prime Minister also made clear his belief that rich nations, who are responsible for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions, are best placed to provide workable solutions to mitigate climate change.

They (industrialised nations) also have high per capita incomes, which gives them the highest capacity to bear the burden. They are technically more advanced, and to that extent best placed to provide workable solutions not only for themselves but for the whole world," he said.

At the same time, Singh said issues of financing mitigation actions to tackle climate change have been a focus of intense discussion in negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

"Unfortunately, progress in these negotiations is painfully slow. The goal of stabilising global temperatures at acceptable levels is nowhere in sight," he told the energy ministers of 20 leading economies gathered to discuss speedy transition to a global clean energy economy.

Singh said while it must be ensured that the UNFCCC process reaches some acceptable outcome, individual countries have to take action to increase energy efficiency and also to promote clean energy.

The prime minister said India was taking steps to exploit non-conventional clean energy sources like solar and wind power and has proposed to double renewable energy capacity in the country from 25,000 MW in 2012 to 55,000 MW by 2017.