Developing economies like India and China will have to come forward to devise their own technologies for the energy sector rather than looking up to the developed nations, R K Pachauri, chief of United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said in New Delhi on Monday.
In his first public appearance after the organisation he headed won the Nobel Peace Prize this year, Pachauri said that there is a clear line of distinction between the energy needs of developing countries and the developed ones.
"We have to devise new technology customised for the needs of our own people, nobody else will do it. It is in our own interest to do it," he said at the conference on 'Climate change and sustainable development- a global perspective.'
Sharing the dais with Ambassadors of China, France, Finland and Netherlands, Pachauri also urged the industrial houses of the countries to get involved to meet the challenges of global warming.
The scientist also criticised the energy consumption patterns of developed countries and warned the south Asian region to take preventive measures to avoid the disastrous impact of climate change.
"Glaciers are melting at an alarming rate. There is going to be huge water scarcity with India and China suffering the worst. We need to prepare for the eventualities," said the recipient of the Padma Bhushan award.
"Sustainable economic development will be possible in the south east Asian region if India and China come forward and forge alliances to harness energy sources," he added.
Pachuari also argued against the power subsidies being doled out by the Centre for the farmers. "Electricity has to be priced at rational level if we want to protect our future," he said.
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