Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met recently with Indian Environmental Minister Jairam Ramesh. The United States is trying to persuade India to cut its global warming emissions, which triggered a sharp reply.

Basically, Ramesh said to Mrs. Clinton that India was doing its best to join the modern world and that restraining production would impede that goal. He furthermore rebuked this country for passing legislation out of its lower chamber to penalize those countries that do not make hard commitments to carbon reductions.

He nevertheless said that if the western world offered up both financial and technological assistance, his nation could at least embark on such a quest.

The Secretary of State nodded and remarked that India’s devotion to climate change goals would spawn new jobs there. In September, President Obama is supposed to unveil this country’s plan to help less developed nations reduce carbon emissions.

Expect to hear that the western bloc is hypocritical as no one ever tried to cap its expansion during the industrial era. But then anticipate a keen rejoinder -- that the economic growth to occur among developing nations will be the leading source for heat-trapping emissions over the next 20 years.

Progress won’t come cheap. But the alternative may be costlier. ###