India for 'global consensus' on environment policy

NEW DELHI: India today called for a "global consensus" on a sustainable environment policy while allowing policy space to all countries to strategise as per their requirements.

Minister of State for Environment Jayanthi Natarajan said that countries should "define their sustainable development strategies as per their national priorities and respective stages of development".

Natarajan was addressing the two-day Delhi Ministerial Dialogue on Green Economy and Inclusive Growth here.

Both poverty and conspicuous consumption were issues that had to be addressed in tandem, Natarajan said.

Speaking of the Indian context, Natarajan said, "Although we have achieved a great deal, considerable challenges remain in the area of poverty eradication."

"Fifty-five per cent of population of rural India today does not have access to electricity," she said.

"The challenge of scale up of cleaner energy solutions gets further compounded by limited access to green technologies at affordable cost," Natarajan said.

She said that countries should avoid using environment concerns to further their economic interests. "Avoid green protectionism in the name of green economy," she said.