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‘Climate change pact not possible sans India, China’

Washington: The U.S. President, George W. Bush, on Wednesday said an accord on climate change was not possible unless countries such as India and China were part of the framework. This was an issue he would be raising at the G-8 Summit to be held in Japan next week.

Speaking ahead of his visit to the summit, which will also be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr. Bush said an effective international agreement could not be reached unless “major economies” come to the table.

It was tough to get a consensus, but no one was going to be given a “free” pass, he said.

He suggested the setting up of a technology fund to help developing countries, which argue that mandatory emission targets would hamper their economic growth. “We’ll be talking about energy security and, of course, at the same time the climate change issue. I’ll be reminding people that we can have better energy security and we can be better stewards of the environment without sacrificing economic growth.

“We can’t have an effective agreement unless China and India are a part of it. It’s as simple as that. I’m going to remind our partners that’s the case.”

Mr. Bush was asked about the outlook for getting an agreement with the emerging economies that would limit emissions in a meaningful way in the mid-term. “The first thing is to make sure we get an understanding that all of us need to agree on a long-term goal.”

“A lot of the developing world says, well, it’s unfair — the developed world gets to develop and we don’t. Well, our attitude about this is, why don’t we set up a technology fund? You know, make it easier for people to be able to afford the new technologies that nations like ours and others will bring to the marketplace,” Mr. Bush said. — PTI

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