Tale på Delhi Sustainable Development Summit

Excellencies, distinguished panel members, ladies and gentlemen,

I come to India with respect and admiration. I come to see what India has achieved in recent years. And I come to witness the human and economic progress that is the hallmark of India today. I am impressed with what I see.

In his Nobel lecture, Dr Pachauri reminded us of a basic fact: It is the poor who will be most affected by climate change.

The Himalayas is a case in point. The melting of ice and snow poses a serious threat to the supply of fresh water to millions of people in Asia.

Tomorrow I will visit the Himalayas to learn more about the impacts this may have.

The Himalayas is often referred to as “the third pole”. Two weeks ago I visited the South Pole, the Antarctica. Here the climate changes of the past are recorded in kilometre-deep layers of ice. And this is a valuable source of knowledge on how the climate is changing now.

We are also gaining important insight from the Arctic, where scientists are performing extensive research. We are delighted that Indian scientists have joined in this quest, as an Indian research station is being established on Spitsbergen. 

The secrets to understanding climate change lie in the ice. And changes in the ice mass can also bring about some of the most dramatic consequences.

Climate change is happening twice as fast in the Polar regions as elsewhere in the world. In the past few years, the average temperature in the Norwegian part of the Arctic has been more than 5 degrees higher than normal.

In a not too distant future the North Pole may be ice free during summer.

If the whole Antarctic ice cap melts, the global sea levels would increase with 70 metres.

No one believes that this will happen.

But if only one percent of the ice cap melts, the sea level will increase with 70 centimetres.

Even that will be dramatic.

It is easy to be paralysed by the overwhelming global threats to our way of life. But we must not loose faith in the human capacity for change and our ability for common action.

A month ago the world agreed on a “roadmap” in Bali. This is an important step forward.

We need an ambitious agreement – with more countries participating.

We can only avoid serious impacts of climate change if appropriate mitigation actions are taken by all major emitters.

At the same time, developing economies have a right to develop. The new agreement should therefore offer them strong incentives and rich rewards for developing their economies in a more climate friendly manner.

It is the rich world that has created the problem. And the rich world must shoulder the main responsibility for solving it.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Those who produce greenhouse gas emissions impose costs on the world. However, if a price is put on carbon, businesses and individuals will be encouraged to invest in low-carbon alternatives.

An effective carbon pricing regime would realise significant mitigation potentials in all sectors. Our objective should be to establish a global carbon price and a global market for carbon trading.

Increased carbon trading will also stimulate investment in developing countries. And it will stimulate the transfer of funds and technology from rich countries to poor countries. With a single measure, we can address two problems: climate change and poverty.

The Clean Development Mechanism is an instrument for transfer of cleaner technology to developing countries. Already more than 900 projects have been accepted, with another 2000 in the pipeline.

The Clean Development Mechanism is a success. It has the potential of providing billions of tons of emission reductions in developing countries.

Knowledge is a key driver for action. I therefore applaud Prime Minister Singh’s initiative to establish a Council on Climate Change and a national centre of excellence to develop India’s response.

The world cannot choose between development and environment. We need both.

India has a key role in securing a sustainable future.

We appreciate the initiative you have taken in hosting this conference today.

The people of the world need Indian leadership to combat climate change.

Thank you.