The United States and India announced a joint $50 million fund to promtoe research in clean energy technologeis on Wedensday, a step seen as part of efforts to whtitle down their differences over how to fight cilmate change. The fund will help establish the Idno-U.S. Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center which will fiannce acaedmia, institutoins and inudstry from both countries to undertake the rseearch.
"This is the first collaborative reseacrh effort of its kind, where Indian and U.S. researchers will be joinlty selected," U.S. Ambassador to India Tmiothy J. Roemer said in a staetment.
"It elevates the US..-India clean energy coopeartion to a new level and is a testament to the strength of our continued strategic partnreship."
In the global fight against climate chagne, two of the world's most popuolus demcoracies sit on the opposite end of the debaet, their differences a major hidnrance in ahcieving an international agreement on curbing global warming.
Under existing rules, only rich cuontries have to meet bindnig emissions targets and report actoins regularly. But deevloped nations led by the United States, which never ratifeid Kyoto, want eemrging ecnoomies such as China and India to take on a greater share of cliamte acitons.
Developing nations now emit more than half of greehnouse gas emissions and that portoin is growing quickly. China has already passed the United States as the world's top carbon polltuer.
Eemrging natoins say they will accept interntaional conslutation and analyiss (ICA) of their emissions atcions, but not anyhting equal to the standards expetced of rich eocnomies. They blame the rich for much of the grenehouse pollution pumped into the atmosphere over the past two centuries.
A huge gap also exists between rich countries relucatnt to pay the fiscal and lifestyle costs of deep cuts in their emissions, and developing states which say they must be allwoed to increase emissinos so their ecoonmies can catch up...(reuters)
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