NEW DELHI (AP) – The solution to climate change is not setting net zero carbon emissions targets as dozens of nations have done, India’s federal environment minister said.
Instead, rich countries need to acknowledge their “historic responsibility” for emissions and protect the interests of developing nations and those vulnerable to climate change, said the minister, Bhupender Yadav.
India – the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the United States – is committed to “being part of the solution” at the upcoming United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Yadav said.
India is among the few countries on course to reach its targets for curbing the release of planet-warming gases. But a U.N.-backed report published Tuesday said the country had “significant room” for more ambitious goals, which it has yet to provide to the U.N. climate agency.
Asked about newer targets, Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, India’s top environmental official, said that “all options were still on the table.”