News4u-News DeskWith nations engaged in tough negotiations for a new climate treaty, India has said its decision on voluntary reduction of carbon emission intensity was not announced under pressure but was made to “facilitate and promote a successful outcome at Copenhagen”.

India decided to cut down its carbon emission intensity by 20-25 percent by 2020 in the run up to the Copenhagen summit, shortly after a similar declaration by China.

Asked if the recent announcement on emission reduction indicated flexibility in India’s position, Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, Shyam Saran said: “We are not required by the convention to do this but we are doing this in order to facilitate and promote a successful outcome at Copenhagen.”

He also made it clear that India would stick to the fundamental elements of its stated position on the issue.

“We should be aware of the fact that there are certain fundamental elements that should not change. In terms of those fundamental principles the Indian stand has been quite consistent,” he said.

On Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s late decision to attend the summit’s finale on 18^th December, that came after US President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s confirmation of their attendance, Saran denied India was acting under pressure.

“We should not be looking as this (PM’s visit) as something as done under pressure. This is a good gesture on our part as a contribution to the success of the negotiations,” Saran said.

He said India would stick to the fundamental elements of the principle of common but differentiated responsibility and that legally binding quantitative emission reduction targets obligations should be on developed countries not on developing countries.

He also said mitigation action being taken voluntarily by developing countries should be supported by financial resources and technology.

The fundamental elements also include a mechanism for technology transfer as well as a financial mechanism that provides for large-scale mobilisation and deployment for financial resources on a stable and predictable basis.

The 12-day long climate change conference kicked off on Monday with strong calls for action by Denmark’s Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, UN’s top scientist R K Pachauri and UN’s top climate change official Yvo de Boer.

The negotiators are expected to produce either a legally binding document or at least a document that captures an agreement on key political fronts to tackle climate change that will be worked into a legally binding treaty next year.

Meanwhile, another track of negotiations are being for conducted for extension of Kyoto Protocol into its second term after its first commitment period expires on 31^st Dec 2012.

India not to accept any legal binding on emission cut: Govt

Under attack for its climate policy for Copenhagen summit, the govt on Monday said India will not accept any legal binding on emission cut and rejected any proposal that would put a cap on the carbon emission.

Days before leaving for the Copenhagen summit which began in the Danish capital on Monday, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said, “Under no circumstances, we will accept any draft which suggests that India’s emissions should peak by 2025, 2030 … This is simply not on our agenda”.

Replying to queries from members in the Rajya Sabha, he said India would not accept the same level of international scrutiny for the country’s unsupported carbon mitigation action though it can do so for the plans supported by global funding and technology.

“Wherever the world supports us in terms of finance and technology, they can come and verify what we are doing. But where you (developed world) are not supporting us… we will not support these actions to international scrutiny”, he said.

Ramesh, who is blamed by opposition for opening the country’s negotiating cards before going to the summit, said, “We will under no circumstances accept a legally binding emission reduction cut.”

He had last week announced in the Lok Sabha that India would unilaterally cut carbon intensity level by 20-25 percent by 2020. His announcement came in for sharp criticism from the BJP and the Left parties.

Justifying the announcement, Ramesh said this was a unilateral domestic obligation that the country had taken on its own interest and tell the world that “if you want us to reflect it internationally, you have to support us both in terms of finance and technology”.

Asserting that he has nothing to hide and was being transparent, he assured them House that the proposal did not mean international monitoring, reporting and verification of unsupported actions.

“I am trying to come clean as much as I can. I am not trying to hide anything”, he said.

Disagreeing with Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley that India’s unveiling its plan would weaken its negotiating position in the summit, Ramesh said, “Every major country in the world has a major offer on the table.

“We also have an offer on the table. But under no circumstances, our per capita emission should exceed the emissions of the developed world” and this too was non-legally binding offer.

He said it strengthened country’s negotiating position to demand greater cuts from the West and denied that the plan was made under any foreign pressure.

On fears that the commitment of 20-25 emission cut would lead to denial of electricity to the masses, Ramesh said, “If this emerges as a constraint, we will re-look it.”

Seeking to allay apprehensions, Ramesh said India would not deviate from its stated position that emission cuts should be on principle of per capita and historical responsibility.

The Kyoto Protocol, which is sought to be replaced by developed countries, follows the principle of per capita emission generation.

Since India stands to gain by this principle because of its large population, the rich nations want to dump this basis.

About 193 countries have begun negotiations to reach a new agreement for cuts in greenhouse gases which threatened to melt glaciers and rise sea levels.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would join the world leaders including US President Barack Obama at Copenhagen on 17^th and 18^th December.

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