Deliberations in Delhi

Yesterday was a busy day by all means. The Delhi Sustainable Development Summit is a very eventful meeting; there are alot of interesting speeches, panels and debates. DSDS provides a forum for views from the developing world and allows for a discourse critical to the conventional to be presented and debated. Being situated in Delhi, the capital of a country- 25% of which is still grappling with abject poverty -, but which claims also to be the fourth economic power of the world, makes this event even more attractive. But it was attractive for other reasons as well.
This year Dr.Pachauri, the President of Teri and DSDS, had won the Nobel Prize, along with Al Gore, for his efforts in IPCC in giving a sound scientific vision for the world on global warming.
Delhi was cold ,not as cold as Tehran, but cold enough to make it difficult to sit in the Habitat Center courtyard during receptions and dinner meetings. The meetings and spicy Indian food was however hot and therefore helped us tolerate the cold weather.
I had a 15 minute Keynote speech yesterday. It was entitled: Climate Change a Mirror of Our Actions: The Inner Journey.
In my speech I mentioned the crucial stage we face on global warming and the fact that new reports all indicate that the pace of warming is quicker than what scientists initially thought. I spoke about the need to see why our words and the commitments of our global leaders have not been properly translated into action. I mentioned the inability of global leaders to make correct decisions. I spoke about the peace of mind and heart as a quality that leaders need before they could promote peace with nature and with other human beings. I explained that many philosophers and thinkers had spoken about this inner peace but I found the Four Journeys of Mulla Sadra to be the most apropriate for our cause . I discussed the four stages of the inner journey and with that note I brought my speech to a closing. Along with my talk I had a power point with pictures from Iran's spectacular nature scenes. Some of them were trully breath-taking.
Many people came to thank me after the speech, they had somehow liked it. Many asked for a electronic copy although some paper copies of the text was also available . I think it was interesting for them since it was different from the techno-economy flavor that most other speeches and debates had followed.
Later in the afternoon there was a roundtable on media with the UNFCCC executive director and Nik Gowing from BBC , I would like to reserve a separate post for that. I had meetings with, IPCC officials, TERI experts, Dr Klaus Toepfer the former UNEP Director, Mr Borge Brende who was a former Minister for Norway and some others who I met on the sidelines of the meetings.
Our embassy in Delhi had a ceremony on the occasion of the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution last night. I was invited by our Ambassador to speak for the Iranian employees and their families. I spoke about the DSDS and the importance of strong international diplomacy and commitment in the field of the environment and about our experiences and success stories in this regard. I also mentioned the importance of preserving the spirit and essence of the Islamic Revolution , now almost three decades later. Independence , freedom , Islamic Republic were the themes people called for. Each theme still holds its essential status. One cannot be sacrificed for the other. We cannot sacrifice freedom for independence or vice versa; nor can Islam be sacrificed for the Republic or vice versa. The religious democracy of Iran is a unique trial or comeback for religion into politics. We all hope it still works out as a viable example for all.