PM Modi took on Obama in fight for ‘Climate Justice’

Power and Urban Development Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not let the Obama administration “bully” India into cutting down carbon emissions and that PM Modi coined the term ‘Climate Justice’ for developing nations to ensure that they have enough energy resources for their development needs.

Sharma said this while inaugurating a workshop on Stakeholders’ Consultation for Net Zero Pathways, Uttar Pradesh State Energy Efficiency Action Plan (UPSEEAP), along with Dr Arun Kumar Saxena, State Minister (Independent Charge), Environment, Forest and Climate Change, at the BBD Fortune Landmark Hotel in Lucknow.  
During his address, the bureaucrat-turned turned politician talked at length about energy efficiency and energy conservation at different levels and highlighted four main areas where energy can be conserved. 

“Climate change is not a distant threat now. It is very near and is visible. Where temperatures used to be at 36 and 37 degrees, records are being broken with the mercury soaring up to 49 degrees. This an alarming time for us and the coming generations,” Sharma said.  
Sharma recalled that he was working in the Prime Minister’s Office when the Paris Climate Change Accord was signed in December 2015. 

“I remember that the Obama administration tried to create pressure on the PM’s office by asking us to comply with the norms. China toh kisi ki sunta hai nahee (China doesn’t listen to anyone),” Sharma said.   
“The Prime Minister brainstormed on the matter and then coined the term ‘Climate Justice’, which means that the developing nations (like India) will not bear the burden of the climatic changes brought about by the pollution caused by developed countries for years.  Prime Minister Modi said that we are going to conserve energy in our own way and are not going to be bullied by the west. He said that respect for the environment has been in our culture and we have been praying to trees and forests for thousands of years. The PM’s office compiled all the ancient rituals and traditions of India meant to conserve nature and presented them on the global platform,” Sharma said.

“The PM’s office told the US to minimize its own emissions and cut down its power consumption. We took on the Obama administration and coined the term Climate Justice for developing nations because we, too, need to develop and provide electricity to each and every home of our country. We, too, need electricity to have lifts in mall and multi-story buildings, but in a responsible manner,” Sharma said. 

He also talked about an incident where Prime Minister Modi urged the pujari of a temple to give saplings along with prasad. “And since then, thousands of saplings have been distributed along with prasad at that particular temple for years,” Sharma said.  
Sharma said that Prime Minister Modi gave impetus to the project of clean energy, where a target of producing 500GW of alternative energy, which was nowhere on the papers before, was set. Energy emission reduction intensity, which was 30% before, was increased to 45% as a target, Sharma said. This meant lessening the carbon intensity for every percentage of GDP achieved, without hampering the development of the nation. 

Sharma also spoke at length on conserving energy in sectors such as agriculture, transport, MSME and buildings. Giving the example of a common housewife, Sharma said, “The housewives keep pointing out to their children to shut down lights and fans while going out. We have to take inspiration and take similar steps for the nation, just like she (a housewife) takes steps for her household.”