The other senior negotiator, former environment secretary Prodipto Ghosh will continue with the team. Though Dr Ghosh, who had serious differences with the line taken by environment minister Jairam Ramesh, had threatened to quit ahead of the Copenhagen summit, he is not throwing in the towel this time round. When contacted, Dr Ghosh said, "I see no reason for me to quit and nobody has asked me to quit."

Sources said that senior negotiator Chandrashekhar Dasgupta is likely to opt out of the team on account of the serious differences with Mr Ramesh. An official close to the developments said that it was unlikely that Mr Dasgupta would want to continue to participate in negotiations "which are on lines that are variant with India's traditional line on climate change." Like Mr Saran, Mr Dasgupta disagreed with the minister's decision to sidestep to per capita approach. Both negotiators have upheld India's traditional position and have viewed "the flexibility" shown by the Mr Ramesh as "total surrender".

While India might seriously intend to pitch Mr Vijai Sharma for the post of executive secretary of the UNFCCC, it is not clear how successful India might be in getting its way. The UNFCCC executive secretary is nominated by the UN secretary general in consultation with members of Convention. Experts say that for India to be successful in its venture, it would need to get the support of the United States and the European Union. The developed countries may use the appointment to reach out to less developed or vulnerable countries, in which case India may not stand a chance.