Published in the Indian Express Newsline, September 17, 1999

U.S. ambassador to India, Richard Celeste, today stressed on greater cooperation between the Indian and American business communities in order to stop further destruction of the environment.

On the International Day for Preservation of the Ozone Layer today, Celeste delivered the inaugural address for the United States-Environmental Resource Center (US-ERC).

"E-commerce does not respect any national boundaries, and the same applies to our ecosystem. Hence the business communities of India and U.S. can join hands and clean up the environment by producing and marketing eco-friendly products," said the U.S. ambassador.

He added that plenty of opportunities exist in the environment management sector and the business houses of both the countries could grasp the opportunities. "We have to respond aggressively to the situation emerging from the continuous degradation of environment," he felt.

The US-ERC is an industrial environmental extension organisation with an active and aggressive outreach programme for assisting industries and the society at large to handle environmental issues. The centre is established in response to the growing need for improved industrial environmental performance, energy efficiency and urban environmental management. Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IIAC), with the active support of the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have agreed to perform technical services for the US-ERC.

The US-ERC will create awareness among Indian industry for adopting best practices and cleaner technologies from India and U.S.

TOP PRIORITY TO ENVIRONMENT: In another eco-seminar organised by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), chief guest S.P. Godrej, said that the ministry of environment should be given top priority.

"While the population of India has grown threefold, the forest cover has reduced three times. This can only be stopped if environment, health, and education are given top priority by the government," said Godrej. The State Environment Secretary, Pram Deo, was also present. In his address, the senior manager of BI Star Limited, A. G. Saligram, said that most of the depleted ozone the environment can be recovered by the year 2050 if all the countries adhere to the Montreal Protocol signed in 1987.