India is in a unique predicament; it has a stake in both preventing climate change and avoiding costly mitigation. It is an unfortunate irony that India, with a third of the world’s poor and less than one-third the per capita carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the world average, is seen as a stumbling block to an international treaty on climate change. Irony, because India’s apparent obstinacy belies a less-known fact: its low emissions result not only from low income levels, but also from energy policies and lifestyle patterns that benefit climate change. Read more
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