Former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran knows more than a thing or two about tough negotiations. Considered a key player in hammering out the Indo-US nuclear deal, he knows there’s a long road ahead in his new assignment as the Government’s point man on climate change. It’s most natural, therefore, that as he draws out a “national action plan,” he draws parallels between the rich, polluter nations and the nuclear club governed by the international politics of NPT.

Just as countries that acquired nuclear capability before a certain period in history say they have the right to continue as members of the club while newer ones need to be condemned, those who polluted seem to be suggesting that now no country should be allowed to pollute while they continue on their high-energy consumption path.

So his first job: set the record right, tell the nations putting pressure on India to take on emission cuts that the country is already clean. “Nationally, we are already doing a lot. While our economy has grown by 8-9 per cent, our energy intensity has only grown by 4 per cent,” he says. In other words, energy used per dollar worth of growth is continuously falling, thanks to clean-up efforts in major sectors like cement and steel. Not just that, he says. As high as 70 per cent of India’s waste is recycled and India is among the leaders in wind energy.

But it will need more than a PR exercise, he admits. Saran is working on a plan that will send a powerful signal to the world that India is not averse to national action. “The national plan that is in the process of being formulated will look at wider incentives for energy efficiency and will promote renewable energy,” he says.

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