ET @GBS Shared humanity can fight climate change: Kathleen Wynne, Ontario Premier

NEW DELHI: Addressing a special address at the ET Global Summit on the ‘Business case to fight climate change’, Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne today said that while countries like India need to grow, as a global economy it has to be acknowledged that “unconstrained growth will tear us apart”.

She pointed out how ‘business case’ alone cannot solve the problems of climate change and there was need to focus on ‘shared humanity’ to decide what matters most.

Supporting the principle of historical responsibility, Wynne said that in the entire North American region, it was Ontario which was taking the lead to decarbonize.

“We haven’t waited to be told when to decarbonize. By 2025, half of Ontario’s energy needs will be met through renewable energy and the other half by nuclear energy….we need to do more…To leap over what we were doing for decades”, Wynne said outlining how Ontario has closed down its coal fired power plants, cut down its Green House gas emissions and created renewable energy sector “out of thin air”.

Leading a delegation of over 70 to India currently, Wynne held forth on how the Canadian province of Ontario was well placed to collaborate with India in areas of clean technology as well as skill development projects and creating smart cities.

“We are well past the question why India. Now it is to talk about how. How Ontario can transfer technology and there is so much to learn from each other to create new opportunities. Skilling like climate change is a shared challenge and we could build on the strength on our Indian diaspora….To climate change challenges as Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed out- technology is not just a solution but the challenge”, Wynne added.

The Premier of Ontario further held that the ease of doing business with India had improved considerably and India was now a “more business friendly place”. Wynne is currently on a ten day visit to India leading a delegation of ministers, MPs, academics and business leaders.