Gore says India can lead green world and still grow

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore spoke in New Dehli with co-Nobel Peace Prize winner Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and an Indian himself. Gore said there was nothing wrong with aspirations to be a modern society, but that India needed to reach them with 21st century technology. It’s a tough sell, as the story notes:

Developing countries say they cannot yet make commitments to cut their emissions because it will hamper their economic growth.

Last month, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged rich countries to ensure technology transfers to developing nations to combat climate change under a transparent global regime.

India late last year slammed a UN call for developing countries to cut carbon emissions by 20 percent over three decades starting in 2020, saying it did not “address the key issues of equality and equity.”

But, it’s a necessary sell that Gore and Pachauri are making. India is the world’s fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitting country, at 6 percent of the world’s total and increasing.