India announced on Monday that its current energy policy is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 25 percent by 2020. However, India cautioned that imposing mandatory targets to address global warming could have negative impacts on economic growth. Despite being a major contributor to global carbon emissions, India, along with countries like the United States, China, Russia, and Japan, is not obligated under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce emissions, which are increasing by 2-3 percent annually. Prodipto Ghosh, the environment secretary, emphasized that India is committed to environmental responsibility and has implemented programs focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy, which have been successful in reducing emissions. Ghosh stated that India's combined policies are projected to result in a significant decrease in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020. India and China, with their thriving economies, are expected to face increased pressure at the upcoming Group of Eight summit in Germany to further reduce their emissions. India is currently allocating 2.17 percent of its GDP each year towards addressing climate change variability through various projects. Experts predict that the Indian subcontinent will experience a significant impact from climate change, including more frequent and severe natural disasters, increased disease rates like malaria, and higher levels of hunger. It is argued that industrialized nations are primarily responsible for global warming and should set more ambitious emission reduction targets for themselves rather than placing the burden on developing countries. A recent study from the United States revealed that the wealthiest nations, including the U.S., were responsible for 60 percent of total emissions in 2004 and 77 percent of cumulative emissions since the Industrial Revolution began. Ghosh stated that developing countries such as India have not been, are not currently, and will not be a major source of emissions. He expressed concern that any legal requirements to reduce emissions could have a negative effect on GDP growth, which would in turn hinder efforts to alleviate poverty. Ghosh called for more assistance from Western countries to help developing nations adapt to the effects of climate change, as he believes that the poor will be most heavily affected by these impacts.