New Delhi: The Prime Minister`s Council on Climate Change will hold a meeting on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss ways to formulate National Mission on Strategic Knowledge of Climate Change.
The mission which is one of the eight missions of National Action Plan on Climate Change unveiled last year calls for the establishment of a Climate Science Research Fund, improved climate modelling capacities, and increased international collaboration.
The Council members are expected to discuss measures to encourage private sector initiatives to develop both mitigation and adaptation technologies through venture capital funds.
The Council has already approved the National Solar Mission and Energy Efficient Missions out of the eight missions under the national action plan on climate change.
While Solar mission sets a goal of making the country dependence on renewable energy, the national mission on enhanced energy efficiency enable about Rs. 75,000 crore worth transactions in energy efficiency. In doing so, it will, by 2015, help save about five per cent of our annual energy consumption.
Other missions target water efficiency, sustainable habitat, sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, afforestation and agriculture.
Following the US model, other developed countries have begun moving away from internationally binding emission reduction targets towards having domestic legislations and targets which can eventually be enshrined into a new treaty, Yadav said in a statement here.
"This is nothing but slow dismantling of an internationally binding agreement. National targets cannot be treated at the same level as commitments made under the Kyoto Protocol.
"This is evident from the current commitments made by a few developed countries and blocks, which remain well below the levels which science says are required", he said.
Yadav said the move by developed countries to dump the existing processes and instruments is being seen as an attempt to weaken the existing levels of commitments and obligations for industrialised nations.
Sunita Narain, CSE Director and a member of the Prime Minister`s Committee on climate change said "we strongly condemn this attempt to junk the Kyoto Protocol and move the goal-posts."
Bureau Report
