Odishatv Bureau
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today pitched for transparent regulatory regimes to ensure that environmental and economic objectives are pursued in tandem.
 
Stressing that protection of the environment and promoting development need not amount to a zero sum game, Singh said what is required is regulatory regimes that are transparent, accountable and subject to oversight and monitoring.
 
"Indeed, regulatory regimes are often the basic necessary condition to ensure that environmental and economic objectives are pursued in tandem," Singh said inaugurating the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) organised by the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) here.
 
Singh said growing population, changing consumption patterns and the consequent pressure on precious natural resources are real challenges that India face in its pursuit of economic growth and the amelioration of poverty.
 
"The present global inequities built into the global economic order are patently unsustainable," he said, advocating re-engineering of economies in ways that are both "frugal and innovative" in their use of scarce resources.
 
"This is where we must look for solutions in the future.
 
India looks forward to working closely with the global community in this endeavour," he said.
 
Singh said that climate change has become the face of many challenges in the pursuit of sustainable development and this problem can only be tackled through coordinated global action.
 
"It is, therefore, crucial to look at sustainable development from a global rather than a purely national perspective," Singh said.
 
 
 
Hailing the industrialised world for adopting a second commitment period till 2020 under the Kyoto Protocol for emissions reductions, Singh said real progress cannot be achieved if developed countries are not willing to enhance their ambition levels.
 
"For its part, our country is committed to meeting its domestic mitigation goal of reducing the emissions intensity of our GDP by 20-25 per cent by year 2020 compared with 2005 levels," he added.
 
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