Resist industry pressure to dilute green reform: U.N.

Krittivas Mukherjee, Reuters 30 Jan 09;

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Industries are pressing governments worldwide to dilute policies on climate change, but the world must not slacken the fight for a "structural shift" to a green economy, the U.N. climate panel chief said on Friday.

Calling the global economic downturn "a major distraction," R.K. Pachauri said even countries such as Germany, which was among those leading the climate change war, were under pressure.

"There is a lot of pressure from business and industry now on the leadership to see that they cut back on some of the professed commitment that they have articulated in the past," said Pachauri, the head of the Nobel Prize-winning U.N climate panel.

Many industrialized nations are shelving ambitions for the deepest cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 as economic slowdown overshadows the fight against climate change.

But, the election of Barack Obama as the new U.S. president, has tempered the gloom, Pachauri said.

For many nations, Obama's election is reason for optimism -- many U.S. allies accuse his predecessor George W. Bush of doing too little to diversify away from fossil fuels. China and the United States are the top greenhouse gas emitters.

"They are very proactive on this issue," Pachauri told a news conference.

"But it will take them a little time to sort of get all the nuts and bolts together, though I think the speed at which the new administration is moving gives you some reassurance that things will happen in the right direction."

Obama has spoken of a "planet in peril" and says he will cut U.S. emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020 -- they have risen about 14 percent since then -- followed by far deeper cuts to 80 percent of 1990 levels by 2050.

He is also pushing for massive stimulus packages that should help a shift from fossil fuels by creating "green" jobs.

Pachauri rejected suggestions that cheaper oil could undermine the move to cleaner fuel, saying record high prices in the last year have created a lasting interest in energy conservation and green fuel.

"This time around people have learnt a lesson," he said.

"Anyone who understands the oil market, the energy market would know that we shouldn't be fooled by the current lull in prices.

"Look, we can not afford to wait much longer...otherwise we are going to create problems that would become intractable and almost impossible to solve in the future."

(Editing by David Fox)