India keeps Copenhagen pledge on emission cuts

The Economic Times , Sunday, January 31, 2010
Correspondent : Swati Mathur, TNN
NEW DELHI: India is stepping up pressure on the West to act on climate change. On Saturday, the government formally conveyed to UNFCCC that India will endeavour to reduce the emission intensity of its GDP by 20-25% by 2020 in comparison to the 2005 level through domestic mitigation actions.

While the 'voluntary' actions will have international ramifications, the decision comes with an important 'conditions apply'. India has also clarified that these actions will be entirely voluntary in nature and will not be legally binding in nature. The mitigation actions will also not apply to the country's agriculture sector.

The decision assumes significance in view of India's traditional position on the issue of climate change. While the Indian government has recognised the Copenhagen Accord as a political 'guiding' document, it has refused to accept it as legally binding. The government has also maintained that the Accord cannot continue while sidetracking the official UN negotiation process on climate change.

Earlier this week, India had also sent a letter to Lykke Friis, Denmark's minister for climate change and energy, maintaining that UN's two-track negotiating process be "urgently activated".

With this letter, India reiterated its stance that the official negotiation process must be carried forward stringently. Dated January 28, it said, "The centrality of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process must be preserved. Therefore, in line with discussions of Conference of Parties (CoP-15), the two-track negotiating process along Ad-hoc Working Group (AWG) on Long-term Cooperative Action and AWG on Kyoto Protocol must be urgently activated in the run up to CoP-16."

India also requested the CoP to convene a meeting of AWG LCA and AWG KP "no later than March 2010" and hold more such meetings before CoP-16 to be held in December this year in Mexico.

With this, according to well-placed sources in the government, the BASIC countries, especially India and China, established their importance in the climate change debate. Environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh will meet Friis on February 7.

 
SOURCE : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/global-warming/India-keeps-Copenhagen-pledge-on-emission-cuts/articleshow/5518967.cms
 


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