Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday announced in the Lok Sabha that India was not responsible for climate change, saying that the per-person carbon emission of the country is not more than two tonnes which is very less compared to the US, Europe and China.
Javadekar's remarks came while addressing the Lok Sabha over the discussion on air pollution and climate change which continued for the third day on Friday. The discussion over the issue was initiated by Congress' Manish Tewari on Tuesday. The discussion resumed on Thursday on the second day.
Before giving a detailed reply over the issue, Javadekar first defined the difference between climate change and pollution, saying "climate change happens because of the rise of carbon dioxide emissions."
He said carbon dioxide exists in the atmosphere for around 100 years but the pollutants are found in the atmosphere for a short period and then disappear.
The minister said that the production of carbon dioxide increased with the burning of coal and the colourless gas - which has a density about 60 per cent higher than the dry air -- settled in the atmosphere.
"The gas stopped the heat produced from the earth going up in the environment. The result is that this heat is increasing. This is the simple reason of climate change," he said.
"India is not responsible for the climate change because per person carbon production of the country is not more than two tonnes which is 16 tonnes in US, 13 tonnes in Europe and 12 tonnes in China."
Expressing his happiness over the discussion, the minister said "this is the first time that discussion over an issue continued for three days in the Lok Sabha".
Citing a quote of Mahatma Gandhi on nature, Javadekar said: "The nature can take care of the needs of everybody but not the greed of everybody."
Before beginning his reply over the issue, Javadekar assured the lower House that the suggestion given by other lawmakers on the issue will be taken into consideration.
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