Think Globally, Act Globally!

India must invest in green technology, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said yesterday. Like China, India is a rapidly developing country. With the world’s second largest population, a rising economy and falling poverty, the country’s energy  use is set to explode. India, however, cannot afford to follow the Western model of high-carbon industrial growth. Neither India, nor China, are responsible for the current climate crisis, but if we are to find solutions to the problem, they must learn from the mistakes of Europe and America.

“Our growth strategy can be different. It must be different,” Singh said.

These are undoubtedly encouraging words. However, India has significantly failed to sign up to international agreements to cut carbon emissions or to set definite targets. Indeed, Singh’s pledge to take unilateral action is reminiscent of George W. Bush’s retrospectively empty words pledging to follow his own eco path outside the binds of Kyoto. That is, perhaps, too cynical an analysis, and one should probably take Singh’s committments at face value. But whilst any action is better than no action, it is not enough for countries to go it alone. Global problems require global solutions. Thinking globally, acting locally just isn’t enough.