From David Miliband's speech in Delhi

Excerpts fromthe speech on January 22, 2007:
"Climate change will affect every country. But the impact will be greater in India, South-East Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The joint India-UK project on climate change highlighted some of the impacts on India:

Water resources are already under strain here. India has 16 per cent of global population but only 4 per cent of global water resources. Across India the hydrological cycle is predicted to become more intense, both with higher annual average rainfall as well as longer periods of drought.

Agriculture constitutes the single largest component of India’s economy, nearly 27% of the GDP. A temperature increase of 2°C is predicted to result in a 10-16% reduction in rice yields, while a 4°C rise led to a 21-30% reduction.

India has a low-lying coastline. India will be one of the countries most vulnerable to sea level rise. Coastal infrastructure, tourist activity, inshore explorations are at risk. Large scale emigration from coastal zones is expected due to submergence of coastal-lines after sea levels have risen. This will create large numbers of environmental refugees especially from low-lying delta regions.

Other impacts include the changes to the makeup of India’s forests, in which 200,000 villages are located in or near; higher rates of certain diseases, such as Malaria, and damage to railways and infrastructure from higher temperatures, increased rainfall and flooding and sea-level rises.

In short, no part of life in India will remain unaffected. The effects will be economic and social, not just environmental.
.......

You therefore have the potential to be a leapfrog economy - going straight to a model of low-carbon development without having to scrap existing infrastructure and technologies. You are already leaders in some renewable energy technologies. About 100,000 biogas plants and 16,530 solar photovoltaic lighting systems were installed during 2004-05. You are the only  country to have a Ministry dedicated to the use of renewable energy – sharing experience of development and deployment of these technologies can provide global benefits. You can forge a distinctive economic path that will give you a comparative economic advantage in future. As your President has suggested in calling for a goal of Energy Independence, renewable energy technologies could contribute 20 to 25 per cent of your energy needs by 2030. You have nearly 60 million hectares of wasteland, of which 30 million hectares are available for energy plantations. With each crop lasting 50 years and being carbon-neutral, biofuels could make a significant contribution meeting future demand in transport fuels and delivering emissions reductions."