A transatlantic alliance that will fight for climate change

Maharashtra has a new ally in its fight against climate change. The Canadian state of Ontario, on Wednesday, announced a new association with Maharashtra to develop clean technology to mitigate effects of climate change.

Dalton McGuinty, the premier of Ontario, praised Maharashtra and India for having set an example for the world in the field of information technology (IT). “Indians have proved their mettle in the IT sector. Even the USA took decades to achieve that. Now it's time for India to do the same in ET — environment technology,” McGuinty said.

He said that Ontario and Maharashtra together can bring about radical changes in the field of clean technology. “In both states, Ontario and Maharashtra, people have areas of expertise and have enormous strength to create cutting edge technology."

The state of Ontario, which has already set up funds for emerging technologies, has envisaged completely stopping coal-based power generation by 2014 and also bringing down peak-hour power demand by 6300MW by 2025.

Sandra Pupatello, a minister in the Ontario government, said, “Many corporate houses with their headquarters in Mumbai have made big investments in Ontario.”

Ontario has taken the first steps in collaborating with India as they have agreed to donate $3 million to a fund to promote research collaborations between Ontario and India.