Inaugurating the 4th Clean Energy Ministerial here on Wednesday, the Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said that the climate change has posed a global challenge which can be met by two ways namely through improving energy efficiency and shift from conventional to non-conventional or clean energy.

But the cost of clean energy remains high and difficult to bear by any individual country for a common global interest.

India would set up a National Institute of Solar Energy by 2015 which would be a global level R&D centre.

“Both actions help to mitigate emissions and both involve costs. But, the costs are borne by the country taking the actions whereas the benefits extend to the whole world. An optimal level of mitigation on the part of all countries can come only through globally coordinated action. An acceptable global energy strategy must also be based on equitable sharing of the burden of mitigation and adjustment,” Dr Singh said.

He however qualified : “On any principle of equity, the industrialized countries have to bear a large share of the burden. They are historically responsible for the bulk of the accumulated GHG emissions and this alone suggests a greater responsibility.”

The industrialised countries also have high per capita incomes which give them the highest capacity to bear the burden. They are technically the most advanced, and to that extent best placed to provide workable solutions not only for themselves but for the entire world.

The Prime Minister regretted that negotiations under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change have been “painfully slow” and “the goal of stabilising global temperatures at acceptable levels is nowhere in sight.”

Though the cost of solar energy has nearly halved over the last two years, it remains higher than the cost of fossil fuel based electricity. As there are fluctuations in generation of energy from solar and wind sources, battery and pump storages are the solutions, the costs of which are also critical.

“One of the critical issues in promoting expansion of clean energy is financing of green energy. Investments in green energy are subject to technological, commercial and regulatory risk. For the moment green energy is not viable on its own without subsidy or regulatory incentives. Investors obviously need assurance that these incentives will continue. Market forces alone will not provide sufficient financing in this environment unless the risks of policy change are appropriately addressed. I am happy that the Ministers have scheduled a separate session on financing. We need to know more about what each of us is doing and this Ministerial is an excellent platform for experience sharing across the countries,' the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister narrated India’s effort in recognising the importance of evoloving a low carbon economy for inclusive and sustainable growth in the 12th Five Year Plan. India has also planned to bring about 20 to 25% reduction in the energy intensity of the GDP by 2020.