The global environmental agenda and the global development agenda were interlinked, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday while stressing that resource efficiency was a necessary condition for sustainable development.
A global growth model, which is inclusive and sustainable, would assist developing countries pursue their objectives, Dr. Singh said at the inauguration of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) in New Delhi.
“Resource-efficiency is a necessary condition for sustainable development, and a key element of the economic pillar of sustainability. The global environmental agenda and the global development agenda are now inter-linked,” he said.
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“India is committed to meeting its domestic mitigation goal of reducing the emissions intensity of GDP by 20-25 per cent by 2020.”
“What is required are regulatory regimes that are transparent, accountable and subject to oversight and monitoring. I would like to mention that protection of the environment and promoting development need not amount to a zero sum game,” he said.
“We in India are fully conscious of the need to conserve our resources through their utilization in a sustainable manner,” he added.
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“We need to re-engineer our economies in ways that are both frugal and innovative in their use of resources,” Dr. Singh said.
The 13th edition of the DSDS focuses on the theme The Global Challenge of Resource-Efficient Growth and Development. It provides an efficient platform for thought leaders and policymakers to discuss effective policy mechanisms to reduce energy and resource footprint, a statement from the organisers The Energy Research Institute (TERI) said.