On the road to Liberty

Rather than focussing on reducing emissions, India can make a difference by liberalising its economy, improve efficiency, and thereby contribute to a cleaner and safer environment. On the eve of the Copenhagen climate conference, I look at the relationship between economic reforms and energy efficiency in this article, " Earth Story ", published in the Financial Chronicle, on 7 December 2009. With the opening of the climate conference in Copenhagen, India has an opportunity to change the climate of negotiations. Surprisingly, Jairam Ramesh, the minister for environment and forest, decided to play for a draw with his statement in Parliament last week proposing voluntary reduction in India’s carbon intensity. Despite his strong assertion that India will not accept any legally binding international commitment to reduce emission, he proposed to reduce the intensity of the economy by a modest 20 to 25 per cent. Just when the world of climate science was getting shaken by allegati...

Nicholas Stern's report on climate change, focuses on reducing emission today, and therefore exposes its political agenda, rather than its economic concern. The present generation cannot help the future by restraining its consumption today. In a free society, increased consumption today triggers the chain of exploration and innovation that will prepare the future generation to deal much better with their present. I look at the key aspects of the Stern Report, in " Beware of Stern warnings " in the Hindustan Times, on 28 December 2006. During the colonial era, religious missionaries would often try to scare the local population with impending damnation, and then offer possible salvation if the people accepted the wisdom of their Book. Sir Nicholas Stern, the high-powered British bureaucrat and economist, seemed to be on a similar mission to India recently. Only, he predicted economic losses, natural disasters and disease and then offered salvation in the Stern Revie...