Domestic agenda should be priority at Paris meet: India Inc

India Inc believes that commitments at the climate conference in Paris should be made taking into account domestic development realities and high costs of transition to low-carbon growth.

"Business is keen to do its part on mitigation and development of climate friendly solutions. But some of that work requires access to technology and investment," the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said in a statement on Sunday. The Paris COP-21 climate summit, beginning on Monday, should give signals to boost business and investor confidence on climate action, CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee added.

CII said that it hopes that governments will continue to exercise their responsibility to arrive at a consensus on post 2020 climate agreement. In order to avoid serious consequences to the planet and life-forms, quick action both on parts of governments and business is required, it added. "Solutions will mainly come from business. Business should also take the responsibility of saving the planet from serious consequences. There are many opportunities beyond the limits of governments that business can certainly tap into," the CII statement said.

However, CII added, "Any commitments should be based on historic and future responsibilities within the context of domestic development realities. The timely opportunity to mitigate and adapt to climate change in a reasonable manner may soon be an illusion." CII said that the world has already reached almost 1C of warming. "Its impacts are being felt in the form of drought, heat waves and extreme precipitation. "The Paris COP should give signals to boost business and investor confidence on climate action," added Banerjee.