India has said it is ready to play an “active” role in crafting a new global accord on combating climate change. “We are not part of the problem but we want to be part of the solution,” Environment minister Jairam Ramesh said, ahead of a UN climate summit of 100 world leaders beginning in New York on Tuesday.
Ramesh said it was wrong to blame India for the deadlock on the global climate change talks and that it was prepared to be an “active player in working towards an agreement.”
India’s national climate plan envisages voluntary mitigation measures by 2020. It includes mandatory fuel efficiency standards, renewable energy initiatives, clean coal technologies, and lower methane farming.
India is, however, firmly against erecting trade barriers against a country that does not accept limits on its carbon emissions.
The US House of Representatives passed a Bill this summer setting the first mandatory limits on greenhouse gases and impose trade penalties on countries that do not cap their emissions.
The UN summit is intended to nudge countries to reach an accord in the Copenhagen climate conference in December. It is also aimed at putting pressure on the US and other developed countries to commit to cuts and provide funds to help developing nations adopt clean technologies and take measures to combat climate change.
