Rosser says that the environment and the economy are inextricably linked, and advocates the role of economists in the development and implementation of policy. Ajit Sinhale, director of the Gokhale Institute said in the Times of India, “The idea is to create a consensus among economists on issues related to the subject. Scientists world-wide have already formed a consensus on this.”
The Kyoto Protocol is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, an international treaty on global warming. Countries that ratify the Kyoto Protocol agree to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses. As many as 141 countries have ratified the agreement. However, the United States has signed the agreement does not intend to ratify it. The U.S. is unhappy with the details of the treaty, namely that China and India – both of which are heavy polluters – were exempt from the restrictions of the Protocol. President Bush commented that while he was not opposed to the general idea of the treaty, he was against its details, which put the United States in an unfair and unfavorable situation.
Another point of contention with the U.S. and the Kyoto Protocol is the United States’s fear that China and India are threatening U.S. jobs through outsourcing. Rosser says that this fear is unfounded, and that Americans need to give the situation some time to sort itself out. He points out the example of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and how many Americans feared losing a multitude of jobs to Mexico. Though there were some jobs lost, Rosser says, it was not a complete disaster as many Americans predicted. Rosser also adds that situations like this tend to balance themselves out through trade and open economies.
Rosser was asked to attend the conference by Sinhale, who has been a friend of Rosser’s for many years. It was one of the first major international conferences held in India. The conference boasted attendees from France, Canada, and other parts of India. Rosser was the only representative from the United States to attend. Rosser also attended a press conference where he was quoted by the April 5, 2005 edition of the Times of India in two separate articles. Rosser says he was surprised to see himself quoted because there were a great number of people at the press conference.
Rosser has also been asked to be a member of a committee that is in formation. This committee will re-examine the Kyoto Protocol. Though the committee does not have an official name, Rosser calls it the Informal Working Group on Post Kyoto Protocol. As for India, the host country of the conference, Rosser called it a “country of contrasts.” Though India faces immense amounts of poverty, the country, with the help of its forward-thinking prime minister, is growing. He added that soon India will step onto the world stage “as a great power.”