The UN Climate Change Summit began in Copenhagen on Monday. There will be two weeks of negotiations between 193 nations to forge a pact to secure the world from calamitous global warming.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, however, is under fire from the Opposition that has accused him of selling out India’s stand on climate change and going soft on the West.
A controversy erupted at Copenhagen. Documents leaked at the climate summit reveal divisions between the developed and developing countries over the shape of a new deal. Campaigners say a draft text proposed by the Danish host government would force developing countries to agree to specific emission.
The leaked document said it will not allow developing countries to emit more than 1.44 tonnes of carbon per person by 2050 while allow rich countries to emit 2.67 tonnes of carbon per person by 2050 which is close to double. It also sees everything coming under a single new deal, whereas an alternative text from developing countries wants an extension to the Kyoto Protocol.
The draft prepared by India, China, South Africa and Brazil sees emission reductions from developed countries coming under the Kyoto Protocol, but the Danish draft sees all of this coming under one single new agreement. Yesterday India made it clear that they are not willing to deviate a bit from the Kyoto Protocol. However, India’s proposal to set up climate innovation Centres for developing countries and sharing green technologies has been approved at the Copenhagen summit.
India’s Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh said that India will not budge on its basic position on climate change and stated that India will play a constructive role for an effective global impact on emission cuts. The chief negotiator at the summit for the European Commission tried to down play the leaked document sstating that “It has no validity, it is just a piece of paper.
The only texts that have validity here are those which people negotiate on. The developing world is up in arms. The chairman of the G77 flatly said he won’t sign such a deal. “We will not sign an inequitable deal. We will not accept a deal that condemns 80 per cent of world population to further suffering and injustice,” said Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, Chairman, G77 and China Bloc of Developing Countries.
The draft prepared by the Danish government contains a clause seeking the developing countries including India to cut emmission levels by 2025 on which India has strong reservations.
It also sees everything coming under a single new deal, whereas an alternative text from developing countries wants an extension to the Kyoto Protocol. The draft prepared by India, China, South Africa and Brazil sees emission reductions from developed countries coming under the Kyoto Protocol, but the Danish draft sees all of this coming under one single new agreement. Yesterday India made it clear that they are not willing to deviate a bit from the Kyoto Protocol.
However, India’s proposal to set up climate innovation Centres for developing countries and sharing green technologies has been approved at the Copenhagen summit. India’s Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh said that India will not budge on its basic position on climate change and stated that India will play a constructive role for an effective global impact on emission cuts.
The chief negotiator at the summit for the European Commission tried to down play the leaked document stating that “It has no validity, it is just a piece of paper. The only texts that have validity here are those which people negotiate on. The developing world is up in arms. The chairman of the G77 flatly said he won’t sign such a deal. “We will not sign an inequitable deal.
We will not accept a deal that condemns 80 per cent of world population to further suffering and injustice,” said Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, Chairman, G77 and China Bloc of Developing Countries.
The draft prepared by the Danish government contains a clause seeking the developing countries including India to cut emmission levels by 2025 on which India has strong reservations.
As it is , India is not bothered because reducing carbon emmissions directly depends on technological breakthroughs, without which the living standards of Indians will erode. India will not opt for economic instability for the sake of climate change.
Ravi Matah