Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM Felicitates Dr. R.K. Pachauri and IPCC Scientists

"I am delighted to welcome this distinguished group of scientists led by Dr. Pachauri in our midst and felicitate them for the distinction conferred on the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). We were all delighted to hear the news of the Nobel Committee's decision. The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to IPCC is the latest feather in the much acclaimed cap of India's scientific community! I commend Dr. Pachauri for his outstanding leadership of the IPCC and for his contribution to bringing India in the forefront of the international discourse on this very important subject.

Dr Pachauri's election to the chairmanship of the IPCC was itself a unique honour. It was both a recognition of India's balanced approach to the issue, and an overdue recognition of the good work being done at TERI. We are all proud of TERI's good work.

I have had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Pachauri's work for a long time. I believe he and his colleagues at TERI have given a new direction to the thinking on global warming and climate change. I commend them for their vision and their commitment. TERI has also been at the forefront in research on energy security. I appreciate its forward-looking approach to questions of energy security.

I do believe research institutions and think tanks have an obligation not just to the present, the society we live in, but also to the future, to generations unborn. Far too much of our policy discourse and public debate is focussed on the issues of the day. Not enough is invested in thinking about the future. I therefore, attach particular value to the work being done by scholars and analysts like Dr. Pachauri.

I have also admired the fact that Dr. Pachauri has tried to bridge the gap between experts and the general public. Considerable energy has been invested in reaching out to policy makers and to opinion makers. It is important that intellectuals and experts should shape public discourse on matters of national and public interest. Even good quality research is of little use if its results remain confined to ivory towers. By making knowledge available to the lay public we empower them and give meaning to our democracy.

This is all the more necessary on issues like climate change and global warming. It is important for every citizen of the world to understand what our obligations are to nature and to humanity. We are all tenants and travellers on this Planet. Here today, gone tomorrow. But life on this Planet will go on, must go on. We owe it to posterity that we give more than what we have received. We owe to nature that we renew it constantly so that the future is not imperilled by the present.

The Nobel Committee has wisely chosen to give the Peace Prize this year to persons engaged in protecting our environment. Protection of life on our Planet for all time to come is the true peace that mankind seeks. We in India are committed to doing what is required to discharge our due in this regard.

I am glad that Dr. Pachauri and many members of his team are actively engaged in advising and working with the government. I look forward to his guidance in shaping our response to the ongoing debate on climate change and global warming.

We have just concluded the second meeting of the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change. This is an important forum, which we hope will set the agenda for debate and policy on climate change issues in the country through a close knowledge partnership between government and civil society. We have decided to upgrade our scientific capabilities in this area and we seek your active cooperation.

TERI has been organising an annual summit on sustainable development. I would like Dr. Pachauri to present before the people of our country a global vision on energy security. What is it that we must do and must not do to address the challenge of energy security. Can we afford persisting with the distortions that have long crept in to our energy pricing policies? Are we contributing to environmental degradation through some of our energy pricing policies? Are we encouraging over use of resources through misdirected subsidies?

What are the long term costs of the short term benefits we seek from such policies? Are we hurting our future energy security by shirking the responsibility to grapple with the challenge at hand? We need a much wider national debate on such issues. I would like our young people to be more vocal on these issues. After all, tomorrow is their's. If the youth of today do not worry about tomorrow, who will?

I would also like TERI and other such research institutions whose representatives are gathered here today to invest more resources in developing energy saving technologies and alternative sources of energy. I do believe solar energy is the resource of the future. We in India must devote more attention to it. Our Government is willing to fund meaningful and result-oriented research in this area.

I once again compliment Dr. Pachauri and all his colleagues. I hope they will all continue to do the good work they have been doing. This award should inspire them to greater effort. May your path be blessed.

Thank you."