NEW DELHI: India has not undertaken legally binding commitments to take absolute greenhouse gas emission reduction targets at Durban, Union environment and forests minister Jayanthi Natarajan informed Rajya Sabha on Wednesday in a statement tabled in the house on the recently concluded UN climate negotiations in South Africa.
"It (the Durban pact) does not imply that India has to take binding commitments to reduce its emissions in absolute terms in 2020," Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan said in a statement tabled in Rajya Sabha on the Durban decision to have a new global climate regime starting 2020.
Her statement comes after the hard-fought battle at Durban UN climate meet, which had to be extended into extra time to address India's concerns and also ensure a second phase ofKyoto Protocol with targets for developed countries.
Members of the house are expected to seek clarifications from the minister on Monday next week.
Natarajan said that EU had pressed for a form of agreement that would be legally binding on all parties but india had resisted the pressure and ensure a third option (besides one of having a protocol or a legal instrument post 2020) was also inserted in the 'Durban Platform' decision of the world attaining 'an agreed outcome with legal force'.
She explained that the third option left the door open to negotiate for regular UN decisions also besides instead of a new legal instrument (like the Kyoto protocol) as part of the new regime.
"India ensured that the new arrangements in 2020 are established under the Convention. This will ensure that the principles and provisions of the convention continue to apply in the new regime as well," her statement read. She also pointed out that the three Indian agenda issues - equity, intellectual property rights and unilateral trade measures had also found anchor in the future negotiations.
This was to clarify that the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) and equity as found in the current convention would also apply to the new regime. A tug of war between the EU, US and India had ensued at Durban on this with the developed countries attempting to keep the new regime out of the canvas of existing UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
EU had demanded a new single legally binding agreement instead while the US had demanded that the exact phrases 'equity' and 'CBDR' not be put in to the final decision.
A last minute compromise by US and EU under pressure from India had ensured that the finalDurban Platform decision explicitly mentioned that the new arrangement would be made under the existing UN climate convention instead of being a parallel or alternative compact.
