'India is not responsible for the climate crisis', Commonwealth Secretary General stresses on not adopting the policies of the West

Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland has told some important things about India regarding the climate crisis. Scotland says that India has not been historically responsible for the climate crisis. Scotland also said that India should not have adopted the polluting policies of the West during its development journey in the 19th century.

Scotland stressed that India has the potential to lead the Commonwealth, an organization of 56 countries, in the field of energy. She said that by sharing its technology and capabilities, India can become the leading country of the Commonwealth. According to Scotland, by presenting an example of a new, clean and safe development model, India can become a ray of hope for the global South.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said, "Despite not being responsible for the climate crisis, India is facing serious climate-related consequences. This includes events like extreme heat, floods and extreme monsoons and action is needed for this." Scotland further said, "You see the level of heat in some cities in India, look at the floods, look at the monsoon, people are facing all these incidents. Therefore, India needs to take action to stop such incidents."

This time in the summer season, India had to face severe heat and heat wave for 536 days. This is the highest in the last 14 years. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the month of June in 2024 was the hottest in North-West India after the year 1901. On the other hand, 3.5 lakh people were affected in Assam due to floods. Apart from this, more than 165 people died in Wayanad, Kerala due to heavy rains and landslides. The Commonwealth Secretary General said that India should not have adopted the development model of the West. She said that the development model of the Western countries is completely futile and because of this the climate crisis is arising.